Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️
Today’s tennis mood: Recovering from last night and wondering about Roland-Garros.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 Two and two: We’re down to two men’s matches and two women’s matches today. For the men, it’s the remainder of the quarterfinals. And, for the women, it’s semifinals day. More on that below.
🎾 One insane battle: That honor belongs to Luciano Darderi and Rafael Jodar. The match, which began after 11:00 pm due to rain and lengthy preceding matches, went three sets, but also had interruptions. Smoke from the Coppa Italia soccer final fireworks show, which was being held 500 meters away, took over the tennis stadium. The players struggled to see the ball, as did the electronic line calling system, which halted play for several minutes. By the time it was over, well into the early morning hours, Darderi emerged the winner, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-0.
What he said: “I think this is the best win of my career because of the crowd and everything here in Rome. It’s my first time in the semifinals — it’s a dream to play here,” Darderi said. “It was difficult because we started around 11, the court was really slow, and Rafa is an amazing player — so young, just 19 years old. I had my chances in the second set, but then he played just amazing…I just kept fighting, and I’m very happy about that.”
Next: Darderi will face Casper Ruud in the semifinals on Friday.
🎾 Another RG drop: That’s Lorenzo Musetti, who announced he will be out of tennis for several weeks due to an inner thigh injury. As a top-ten player and a semifinalist at last year’s Roland-Garros, Musetti was certainly viewed as a contender at this year’s tournament with Carlos Alcaraz sidelined for the clay season.
What he said: “After yesterday's match, I underwent medical examinations which revealed a rectus femoris injury, requiring several weeks of rest and recovery," Musetti posted on Instagram. “Unfortunately, this means I won’t be able to compete in Hamburg and Roland Garros — news that is incredibly hard to take.” He added: “A huge thank you to the Rome crowd for your incredible support: that’s exactly why, despite not being 100%, I chose to step on court and give everything I had in my home tournament. I'll keep you updated.”
By the numbers: Musetti will be fighting to stay inside the top 20 by the time Roland-Garros is over — a significant drop after reaching his career-high ranking of five just a few months ago.
🎾 One to watch: Coco Gauff vs. Sorana Cirstea (Semifinals - WTA - 1000): Watch this one for a mental battle. When these two play, it always is.
The record: Coco Gauff leads the head-to-head record over Sorana Cirstea 3-0. However, all three matches have been lengthy three-set battles.
On the line: For Cirstea, this match is about finishing strong during her last year on tour. On Gauff’s end of the court, this is about going into Roland-Garros confidently — and Cirstea’s entire goal will be to shake that confidence.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 71% of you called for Rafa Jodar to defeat Luciano Darderi. Darderi won 7-6, 5-7, 6-0.)
And that’s game.
