Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️
Today’s tennis mood: Shaking and nodding my head at Jessica Pegula and wondering how the Turin field is going to shake out.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 On tap: We’ve got several compelling matches today in Hong Kong, Chennai, and Paris, with a few of them having implications on the field in Turin. In action today: Alex Eala, Maria Sakkari, Zeynep Sonmez, Arthur Fils, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Casper Ruud, among others. Catch the rundown below for more.
🎾 Inbox: When I asked you the other day about how you all would give the Paris Masters a glow-up, I heard from many of you about where you’d start. Here’s what you said for this edition of Roast My Rolex Paris Masters…
The camera: Hands down, the top fix request is the camera angle. “I didn’t think I had a fear of heights, but this tournament has proven me wrong,” wrote Andrea. John said facetiously: “Are the court dimensions different in Paris? Because this angle makes the court look square and I can’t understand how some of these shots go in.”
The sad colors: Skip replied: “How about if the court colors, especially the outside-the-court surface, wasn’t so blinkin’ muted? Probably the least expensive improvement they could make other than letting go of whoever did design the setting’s overall color scheme.”
The tunes: “The music is so boring, except for the occasions when it’s depressing,” wrote Jane. “Can’t we get a dj like the Italians have?”
The atmosphere: Tammy asked: “Are people even having fun? It feels like the whole dim atmosphere is creating an unpleasant experience, and people are only animated if a French player is doing well.”
🎾 Hot mic: Jessica Pegula has found herself in a rare uncomfortable situation after cameras picked up some comments she made about Mirra Andreeva and her coach Conchita Martinez on the practice court on Wednesday. In what she thought was a private conversation with her coach Mark Knowles, Pegula could be heard saying that Andreeva is “a diva” and “needs to be humbled” after a practice session between the two players abruptly ended. It wasn’t possible to clearly hear all that Pegula had to say, but the BBC has a rough transcript.
Noteworthy: This isn’t a great look for anybody involved. And Pegula isn’t saying anything that hasn’t been widely discussed. Still, this feels entirely avoidable.
Yes, but: Why is Coco catching strays?!?
Pegula: “It’s so funny how you see her, and then you see Coco’s mentality. If she had Coco’s mentality, she’d be better than her.” Knowles replied: “Oh, definitely.”
Sunday: That should make for an interesting match between Pegula and Gauff on day one of the WTA Tour Finals on Sunday.
And another moment: Elena Rybakina and her coach Stefano Vukov also had a tense moment on the practice court on Wednesday, which only brings up their previous issues.
🎾 One to watch: Arthur Fils vs. Taylor Fritz (3rd round - ATP 1000 - Paris): Watch this one for the competitive drama of a beloved French player playing at home versus a not-so-beloved (in France, that is) American player who needs to win to make it into the ATP Tour Finals.
The record: The head-to-head record between Arthur Fils and Taylor Fritz is tied at one apiece.
On the line: For Fils, this match is all about playing before a home crowd and gaining more confidence going into the ATP Tour Finals. But for Fritz, this match is about getting into Turin. He’s one of the few players still in contention. But if he loses this one, he’s out.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 70% of you called for Carlos Alcaraz to defeat Alex Michelsen. Alcaraz won 7-6, 6-3.)
And that’s game.
