Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️🌴😎
Today’s tennis mood: Seriously dazzled with popcorn preparation on the ready.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
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🎾 Catching up: After a packed schedule on Thursday, the Miami Open is mostly back on schedule following days of rain and an out-of-commission stadium court. While round two kicks off today (also in a jam-packed schedule), there are still a handful of first-round matches on the men’s side to be completed. But in the wild day that was yesterday, here are some outcomes you may have missed…
Magda Linette pulled off the super upset of the day over compatriot and number two seed Iga Swiatek 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Raphael Collignon defeated Grigor Dimitrov 7-6, 4-6, 7-6.
Botic van de Zandschulp took down Denis Shapovalov 7-5, 6-3.
Moise Kouame defeated Zachary Svajda 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
And Arthur Fery has supreme racket-handling skills.
🎾 A first: Moise Kouame, the 17-year-old Miami Open wild card from France, made history on Thursday by winning his first-round match over American Zach Svajda. The 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win made him the youngest Masters 1000 match winner since Rafael Nadal in 2003. Kouame may have been struggling physically by the end, but that didn’t hold back the outpouring of emotion once it was over.
What he said: “It’s huge,” Kouame told Tennis Channel after the match. “[My] first main draw at a Masters 1000 here in Miami — it’s such a cool place. I’m really happy to win that match today and hopefully I can win many more.” He added: “It’s my first time, so I didn’t expect all of this, but here I am. I need to get used to it pretty fast. It brings me a lot of confidence. It shows me that I’m on the right path. I just need to keep working.”
But, also: What do you say when Djokovic congratulates you?
🎾 Out of the bag: That blacked-out racket that Alexander Bublik has been playing with for some time isn’t the frame everyone thought it was. A tipster told us that he was switching to Diadem, and the big announcement was supposed to come today. Welp, Bublik didn’t get the memo, and he posted it on his Instagram Stories last night. Absolutely nobody can tell Alexander Bublik what to do. But, in all seriousness, that’s a big get for a still relatively new company, making it their second (almost) top 10 player alongside Elina Svitolina.
🎾 One to watch: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Joao Fonseca (2nd round - ATP 1000 - Miami): Watch this one because it’s the match everyone is talking about. Everyone wants to know how the kid is going to match up against…well…the other kid. Expect tons of explosive hitting and competitive drama for a fun night match in Miami before a crowd that will know no boundaries.
The record: This will be the first time Carlos Alcaraz and Joao Fonseca face each other.
On the line: There’s little doubt that Fonseca sees this as an opportunity to say the hype around him is deserved, and he doesn’t need to win to prove (but it would be a nice bonus). Meanwhile, Alcaraz wants to win this as decisively as possible to let Fonseca know that he’s not approaching the upper echelon anytime soon.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 76% of you wanted Jennifer Brady to defeat Sloane Stephens. Stephens won 6-4, 6-2.)
And that’s game.
