Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️🥐
Today’s tennis mood: Satisfied but also a little disappointed.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 That prime-time match: Yesterday, we called out the Naomi Osaka-Aryna Sabalenka match in part because Roland-Garros tournament organizers finally put a women’s match, and in part because of how great of a match we anticipated. Until 7-5, 3-all, we got exactly that match. And that’s when Sabalenka broke away to take the final three games, with Osaka winning just one point in each game. Their match takeaways were noteworthy.
What she said: “Honestly, I don’t really look at the result too much any more. I feel as long as I wake up every day and hit the ball and think I’m improving, that itself is a win,” said Osaka. “Obviously, sometimes in the season, there are dips, highs and lows. But I think getting the furthest that I got so far in Roland Garros should hopefully be a positive result for me.”
And what she said: “I think the atmosphere and the attention that this match brought is going to show them that probably for the future they should consider putting, at least sometimes, women’s matches at night,” said Sabalenka. “So I hope that this is the beginning, today’s match. It’s like we open up that door for woman night sessions.”
🎾 Coming up short: That’s where we find Frances Tiafoe, who was up two sets to one, 4-1 and 40-15 on his serve against Matteo Arnaldi…and lost. There’s no way around it: This was a disappointment. Tiafoe couldn’t have asked (and received!) a better opportunity.
What he said: “I always dreamed of playing a match at Roland Garros at night,” Arnaldi said after the match. “This battle against Frances, at one point it wasn’t tennis, it was something else. You were just playing with everything you had. There had to be a winner tonight, and fortunately it was me. This is definitely the best match I ever played.”
🎾 Have you heard?: Naturally, about five minutes after hitting the publish button on The Daily Theory yesterday, news broke that Serena Williams had officially announced her return to pro tennis via this Nike ad.
One question: Is it too soon to talk about how Venus and Serena are positioning themselves to end their careers with gold medals hanging around their necks in their hometown of Los Angeles in 2028?
🎾 One to watch: Rafael Jodar vs. Alexander Zverev (Quarterfinals - Roland-Garros): Watch this one to see what explosive newcomer Rafa Jodar can do against a top-ranked player. If the forecast keeps up and rain keeps the roof closed, that’s a major boost to Jodar, who loves fast conditions and the elements not affecting his shots.
The record: This will be the first time Jodar and Zverev will face each other.
On the line: All the pressure is on Zverev, who has the most wide-open path to a major he’ll ever see. Can he handle the pressure? History says no. Meanwhile, there’s no pressure on Jodar, which will allow him to play freely and really go for his shots. That’s pretty much his style, anyway.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 60% of you called for Naomi Osaka to defeat Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka won 7-5, 6-3.)
And that’s game.
