Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️🎾
Today’s tennis mood: Curiosity piqued, but counting on a low-key day.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
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🎾 The slowdown: We’ve reached that part of the Miami Open when we should be picking up steam, but it actually feels like things are petering out. There are five days left in the tournament, but only four singles matches are scheduled for today, and they don’t start until 1:00 ET. Yesterday, however, was a solid day of tennis. Here are a few matches you would not have wanted to miss…
Frances Tiafoe pulled out another three-set thriller. This time it was over France’s Terence Atmane, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.
That Valentin Vacherot-Arthur Fils match was every bit the banger we here at Court Theory HQ tried to tell you it would be.
Alex Michelsen put up one helluva fight against Jannik Sinner, but lost 7-5, 7-6.
Sebastian Korda couldn’t back up his win over Carlos Alcaraz, losing to Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce despite a match point in the second set.
Relatable: Coco Gauff, after her topsy-turvy 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 win over Belinda Bencic, noted that much of her erratic play is not her serve and not her forehand — it’s her mentality. So much so that even as the world number four and the holder of two major titles, she suffers from a touch of impostor syndrome.
What she said: “I think it just shows my mind and it’s just all about mentality out there at the end of the day,” Gauff said after her win. “I think I have to believe that I belong where I am. I think sometimes I can get impostor syndrome, and even when they’re saying my accomplishments during the warm-up, it doesn’t feel like me, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I actually do have a good career’. But it doesn’t feel like that sometimes in the moment, because you’re just working on things.”
And: “Especially with my serve, it just feels like I shouldn’t be where I am. But tennis doesn’t lie, the ball doesn’t lie, so I just have to believe in myself, and my coach has been reminding me: ‘Remember who you are, and you’re a good player.’ They’ve been putting that into my head. At moments I believe in it, at moments I don’t. So I’m just trying to believe it more.”
🎾 A big question: What does Taylor Fritz do now? After losing to Jiri Lehecka in the 4th round of Miami, does the top American take a break and give his tendinitis a chance to heal — or does he keep going full steam ahead during the most grueling part of the calendar? To be sure, Lehecka played top-tier tennis to defeat Fritz, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, knocking down 10 aces and collecting 37 winners. But there were multiple stretches in which Fritz seemed like he just didn’t have the juice to hang, given his insistence on grinding his way through matches.
What he said: “There’s a couple things I could have done better, but I did well to take it to a third. He played great. I really didn’t do too much wrong,” Fritz said after the match. “And you know, when that’s the way it is, I feel a lot less frustrated. It does suck because the draw obviously has opened, and it’s a great opportunity, but he played better than me. He deserved it.”
Next: Your guess is as good as mine.
🎾 One to watch: Hailey Baptiste vs. Aryna Sabalenka (Quarterfinals - WTA 1000 - Miami): Watch this one to see what happens. Seriously. Baptiste is into the quarterfinals by sending home three seeds — and, in four rounds, she hasn’t dropped a set. And while Sabalenka has had just as smooth a path to the quarterfinals, she doesn’t like facing a player for the first time. Sabalenka likely still wins this, but this could be the most fascinating match of the day.
The record: This will be the first time Haliey Baptiste and Aryna Sabalenka will face each other.
On the line: Baptiste faces zero pressure in this match-up. That means all pressure is on Sabalenka, who has had a straightforward tournament so far this year.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 66% of you called for Arthur Fils to defeat Valentin Vacherot. Fils won 6-4, 6-7, 6-4.)
And that’s game.
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Matches we’re monitoring today:
Miami - WTA 1000 (Hard)
Elena Rybakina vs. Jessica Pegula (Quarterfinals)
Aryna Sabalenka vs. Hailey Baptiste (Quarterfinals)
Miami - ATP 1000 (Hard)
Martin Landaluce vs. Jiri Lehecka (Quarterfinals)
Tommy Paul vs. Arthur Fils (Quarterfinals)
📺 Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.
💬 For real-time match commentary and conversation, follow Court Theory on Bluesky.
Karolina Muchova has quietly made her way into the semifinals of Miami after defeating Victoria Mboko on Tuesday.
For The Athletic, Matt Futterman goes through the trials of Sebastian Korda with Korda himself.
Hubert Hurkacz has split with his coach Nicolas Massu, after a little more than a year together (but much less in reality due to Hubi’s injury absence in 2025).
Rafa Nadal would like the Alcaraz naysayers to kindly shut up.
With all the focus on Taylor Fritz’s exit, everyone is missing what Jiri Lehechka has to say for himself.
The players go to work in Miami.
