Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️🍓
Today’s tennis mood: A bit disappointed, but still optimistic.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
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🎾 Round Two: The second round of singles matches kicks off today at Wimbledon, and there are some solid ones to pick through today, even if a little less dramatic compared to the first two days of the tournament. Still, what should we make of a recently (once again) freed Stefanos Tsitsipas when he takes the court against Novak Djokovic later? Can Jannik Sinner keep his shoes white today? Is Iva Jovic ready for the kind of game Tatjana Maria brings?
🎾 Two questions: Are you just getting started with Wimbledon? Be sure to check out the Court Theory Wimbledon preview to get you started off on the right foot. And have you entered our Wimbledon giveaway with our partners at Babolat?
🎾 An ace down the tee: The Serena Williams comeback story might have gone according to plan, but it has given us some new plot lines. The loss to a very solid Maya Joint showed that Serena can still knock down serves, can still cover the court, and can still summon the competitive juices. Yet, there was an unsureness that was present. Footwork was imprecise, even if quick. And there were times when she was making sure to get balls in play, instead of smacking them to take over the point. All of that is fixable with tournament play, which I hope she continues to do.
Noteworthy: The sensational story of Serena returning to pro tennis at Wimbledon belies a very real truth: Coming back to pro tennis on grass, at the most prestigious tournament, is something only the greatest would even consider undertaking.
Yes, but: It was a bad look for Serena to skip press after her loss. I’m a firm believer that she had every right to ask for a wild card and Wimbledon was right to award it. Unless there was a medical emergency (and, no, I don’t think a knee issue qualifies), it's disrespectful not to honor the obligations that go along with it. Full stop.
🎾 One to watch: Barbora Krejcikova vs. Mirra Andreeva (2nd round - Wimbledon): Watch this for an early challenge to the fifth seed by a former Wimbledon champ. Expect some longer rallies than usual for grass court tennis, as Andreeva tries to outlast Krejcikova — and for Krejcikova to slide the ball around the court to put Andreeva in increasingly uncomfortable positions.
The record: Mirra Andreeva leads the head-to-head record over Barbora Krejcikova 3-1. Andreeva won their most recent meeting in Ningbo in 2024.
On the line: As the newest member of the Majors Club, Andreeva wants to prove that her Roland-Garros title wasn’t a fluke. So, an early exit isn’t part of the equation. Meanwhile, Krejcikova wants to show she’s still got what it takes to compete against the very top of the game.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 64% of you wanted Serena Williams to defeat Maya Joint. Joint won 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.)
And that’s game.
