Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️🌱
Today’s tennis mood: Happy for those who wore out the grass, but also ready for fresh green lawns.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 This week: We’re on to week two of the grass season with tournaments continuing in London, Nottingham, Berlin, and Halle. Most of the women’s top 10 are in action in Berlin, while the men’s top 10 are playing primarily in Halle. All of it adds up to some fascinating matches today and beyond. More on that below.
🎾 ICYMI: We’ve just completed Week One of the grass season — and, as is customary, things were a little wild.
At Queen’s Club, lucky loser Donna Vekic took the title over Emma Raducanu, having never faced a seed (and dropping only one set) along the way.
In Stuttgart, somehow, the seedings played out according to plan, with top seed Ben Shelton defeating second-seeded Taylor Fritz in the final 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, two great stories emerged. Robin Montgomery, the dazzling young American, who was sidelined for much of the last year and just got back to playing during the clay season, took the title (unfortunately by default) over Barbora Krejcikova. And, Kamil Majchrzak, one of the very best human beings on tour, won his first title at the age of 30 over Alex de Minaur 6-3, 2-6, 7-6.
🎾 And another thing: In an emotional moment, at the age of 30, Kamil Majchrzak wins his first ATP Tour title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch on Sunday. After narrowly escaping the first round, he defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev, and, in the final, Alex de Minaur. With it, he’s cracked the top 50 for the first time.
What he said: “It’s just unbelievable to go through these emotions, to live through these emotions, to even compete at that level and to win an ATP title,” he said in an ATP interview. “That’s the ultimate goal for a tennis player. Now I’ve accomplished it. Now I have to set myself a new goal.”
Noteworthy: It’s too often we look past players like Majchrzak because of the stars we have at the very top. But our sport would be so much healthier if we all looked around a little. There are so very many marvelous stories like Majchrzak every single week in tennis. We just have to be open to them.
🎾 The Raducanu Report: One of the very best things to come out of last week’s tournaments is the realization that Emma Raducanu showed signs of rejuvenation. After reaching the final of Cluj-Napoca in February, she inexplicably went 1-5 and skipped numerous tournaments before arriving at home in London and landing in the final against an on-fire Donna Vekic. But it wasn’t just the results. She played each match with a genuine smile on her face and looking like she was comfortable in her own skin again. After the last year, that might have been a bigger win than taking home the title.
🎾 One to watch: Flavio Cobolli vs. Frances Tiafoe (1st round - ATP 500 - Halle): Watch this one because it may be the most unfortunate first-round match of the week. Let’s see how the newest top 10 player performs a week after the biggest match of his life while facing an opponent he has a losing record against.
The record: Frances Tiafoe leads the head-to-head record over Flavio Cobolli 3-1. All four matches have been on hard court, and Tiafoe won their most recent match at Indian Wells this year.
On the line: Last year, Tiafoe won just one match during the grass season, so he has little to defend and much to gain. Meanwhile, Cobolli was a quarterfinalist at Halle and Wimbledon. A first-round exit could mean he exits the top 10 as quickly as he arrived.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
And that’s game.
