Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️
Today’s tennis mood: Total fascination plus a bit of, “Are you sure about this?”
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
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🎾 A wild day of clay: From the get-go, yesterday was a truly bonkers day on the clay. Here’s how some of the shockers, roller coasters, and true puzzles shook out:
Valentin Vacherot made good on the match we here at Court Theory HQ called out in The Daily Theory yesterday, winning 7-6, 7-5.
Young Belgian qualifier Alexander Blockx upset Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-3.
Casper Ruud took down Corentin Moutet in a thoroughly entertaining match, 7-5, 6-3.
Tomas Machac pulled off a solid upset against Francisco Cerundolo 7-6, 6-3.
Cristian Garin failed to make good on a clear path to an upset against Alexander Zverev, being up 4-0 in the third set before Zverev came back to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Zizou Bergs took down Andre Rublev 6-4, 6-1.
And, of course, that Matteo Berrettini double bagel over Daniil Medvedev we called out yesterday morning.
🎾 Back in action: Holger Rune will be back in competition next month, as he attempts to be fit enough to play Roland-Garros. The Dane has been sidelined after undergoing Achilles surgery in October, following a devastating rupture of the tendon during the Stockholm Open. Since then, the 22-year-old has been posting videos of his recovery and training on social media.
What he said: “The hard work starts in Hamburg,” said Rune. “I can’t wait to be back on clay at the Bitpanda Hamburg Open and to finally experience the atmosphere on site again after such a long break.”
🎾 BJK Cup kick-off: Billie Jean King Cup play has officially begun with the group play for the countries aiming to advance to the main stage next year. And tonight, two days of top-tier play begin with Australia vs. Great Britain. Check out the full schedule here.
🎾 One to watch: Valentin Vacherot vs. Hubert Hurkacz (3rd round - ATP 1000 - Monte-Carlo): Watch this for some serious competitive drama between two players who serve and hit big, but both know how to play on the dirt. And it’s hard not to follow Vacherot as he attempts to win the tournament where he grew up, especially after saying earlier this year, “[I]t’s weird, but I’d rather win Monte-Carlo than a Grand Slam to be honest…Of course, I wouldn’t mind winning a Grand Slam. It’s just really special. It’s the club that I’ve always been playing tennis in.”
The record: This will be the first time Valentin Vacherot and Hubert Hurkacz face each other.
On the line: Since neither player has ranking points to defend from last year’s tournament, this is all about stacking points for both. Add to that the pressure Vacherot has placed upon himself in his home tournament and Hurkacz’s desperation to disrupt the 1-7 record he had coming into Monte-Carlo.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 55% of you called for Valentin Vacherot to defeat Lorenzo Musetti. Vacherot won 7-6, 7-5.)
And that’s game.
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Now booking: Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, Cincinnati & more!
Matches we’re monitoring today:
Linz - WTA 250 (Clay)
Lilli Tagger vs. Liudmila Samsonova (2nd rd)
Karolina Pliskova vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova (2nd rd)
Tamara Korpatsch vs. Anastasia Potapova (2nd rd)
Monte Carlo - ATP 1000 (Clay)
Zizou Bergs vs. Alexander Zverev (3rd rd)
Tomas Machac vs. Jannik Sinner (3rd rd)
Carlos Alcaraz vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry (3rd rd)
Matteo Berrettini vs. Joao Fonseca (3rd rd)
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Casper Ruud (3rd rd)
Jiri Lehecka vs. Alexander Bublik (3rd rd)
Alexander Blockx vs. Alex de Minaur (3rd rd)
📺 Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.
💬 For real-time match commentary and conversation, follow Court Theory on Bluesky.
Carlos Alcaraz has big plans for the clay season — and the yacht he’s having built.
The ATP goes deep with the rapidly rising star, Rafa Jodar.
At 17, Mika Stojsavljevic will make her Billie Jean King Cup debut for Team Great Britain.
For everything Valentin Vacherot has achieved in the last several months, much of it may not have happened without his partner, Emily Snyder.
Jelena Ostapenko had enough of the heckling during her comeback win over Alex Eala on Wednesday.
On Served, Andy Roddick talks with Aryna Sabalenka’s performance coach, Jason Stacy.
