Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️🥐
Today’s tennis mood: Highly concerned but also ready for a battle.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 Implosion: That was Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday after losing to Diana Shnaider from 6-3, 4-1, 30-0, serving. She was in complete control and was just six points away from the semifinals. Then it all turned on a dime. She lost one point, and the negativity took over. And that sent a message to Shnaider that she was still in this match, even if the scoreboard didn’t reflect it…until it did: 3-6, 7-5, 6-0. From that dominant position, Sabalenka won just one more game.
What she said: “Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after the match slipped away. “We'll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.”
And what she said: “Well, honestly, I am speechless. Super happy,” Shnaider said after the match. “I feel like I was trying to focus point by point. Not thinking about the score. She is the world No. 1, so ... just trying to do my best. I just had to fight for every point.”
Next: Shnaider faces qualifier Maja Chwalinska in the semifinals.
🎾 Italian showdown: Matteo Arnaldi advanced to the Roland-Garros semifinals over compatriot Matteo Berrettini, who had to retire toward the end of the second set due to injury. “It’s a tough one,” Arnaldi said in his on-court interview. “We both played a lot, so it’s normal not to be at our best, but you never wish someone to end the tournament like this.” That win sets up another all-Italian match, as Arnaldi takes on Flavio Cobolli in the semifinals on Friday.
🎾 Deflated: That’s Felix Auger-Aliassime after missing an obvious opportunity to make the semifinals (and perhaps final!) of a major, losing to Flavio Cobolli 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. And he’s not taking it well.
What he said: “I’m in a place right now with my tennis career that it’s tough,” Auger-Aliassime said in his post-match press conference. “I'm destroyed today a little bit. It’s tough. I usually handle losses pretty well, I have to say. My whole career, I was going back to training with optimism and positivity. Now I feel like I'm not the player I want to be, so today is a difficult day.”
🎾 One to watch: Marta Kostyuk vs. Mirra Andreeva (Semifinals - Roland-Garros): Watch this one for what will be pure competitive drama. With windy conditions expected, Kostyuk’s controlled aggression is favored, unless Andreeva can get out of her counterpunching ways when it matters.
The record: Marta Kostyuk leads the head-to-head record over Mirra Andreeva 2-0. Both matches have come this year, including one on the clay of Madrid just weeks ago.
On the line: For both players, this is all about a shot at the title. But, for Kostyuk, this is a match about national pride.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 58% of you called for Flavio Cobolli to defeat Felix Auger-Aliassime. Cobolli won, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.)
And that’s game.
