Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️🍁
Today’s tennis mood: Fascinated by the match-ups and chuckling at Arthur Fils.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 On tap: In today’s edition of Seed Survivor…Ben Shelton is the highest seed left in Montreal. He’s also the defending champ. Will that be helpful or unhelpful pressure as he faces Zizou Bergs today? We’ll see. Another question: Can Tallon Griekspoor back up his big win over Alexander Zverev when he takes on Matteo Arnaldi in the first match of the day? And Casper Ruud vs. Joao Fonseca should be highly entertaining tennis. Meanwhile, in Toronto, Mirra Andreeva vs. Leylah Fernandez, Maria Sakkari vs. Coco Gauff, Caty McNally vs. Alex Eala, and Elise Mertens vs. Naomi Osaka should all be fun matches to catch today.
🎾 Join the Club: My reporting from Montreal this week is in part thanks to the generous support of Court Theory Plus members. Upgrade your Court Theory experience and support independent journalism at the same time for as little as the cost of a can of tennis balls each month! Doing so will allow Court Theory to thrive and bring you more of what you love! Upgrade now! 🎾❤️
🎾 One to watch: Learner Tien vs. Tommy Paul (3rd round - ATP 1000 - Montreal): It’s a rematch! The two Americans faced off earlier this year in a tight three-setter in Delray Beach, showing what two U.S. hard courters can do. Expect lots of grinding from the baseline from both, with both looking for opportunities to get the other just that one step behind to go for a winner. This match will likely be decided on the kind of serving day they each have.
The record: Tommy Paul leads the head-to-head record over Learner Tien 1-0.
On the line: They both have more-or-less met their points from last year’s Canadian Open. For each player, this match represents an opportunity for continuity in erratic spring and summer seasons. And at a time when Americans are struggling with injuries, getting the remaining sharp will prove important heading into the U.S. Open.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: You all were split 50-50 on Madison Keys vs. Marta Kostyuk. Kostyuk won 6-3, 6-1.)
And that’s game.
