Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️
Today’s tennis mood: Pleased about indoor tennis and all the surprises it brings.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 On tap: It’s a new week on tour, with the women continuing the Asian swing in Tokyo and Guangzhou, while the men continue the indoor season in Europe with stops in Basel and Vienna. Keep your eyes peeled for Stan Wawrinka celebrations all week long as he wraps up his career at home.
In action today: Leylah Fernandez, Naomi Osaka, Jasmine Paolini, Venus Williams, Matteo Berrettini, Jakub Mensik, Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, and Learner Tien, among others. More on all of this below.
🎾 ICYMI: Five tournaments wrapped up over the weekend. Here’s how all of that shook out…
Ningbo: Elena Rybakina defeated Leylah Fernandez in straightforward fashion, 6-2, 6-2.
Osaka: In a surprise set of finalists, a more experienced Katerina Siniakova thumped Ashlyn Kruger 6-1, 6-0, in no small part thanks to a whopping 34 unforced error count from the American.
Almaty: Daniil Medvedev came into the Almaty Open with two dozen titles, but had never successfully defended a title. That all changed on Sunday after he defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-7, 6-1, 6-3.
Lyon: Lorenzo Musetti outplayed Taylor Fritz on almost every front to decisively win 6-3, 6-4.
Brussels: In a serious true battle of explosive power, booming serving, massive forehands, and brilliant points at the net, Tallon Griekspoor defeated Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
🎾 ATP Race update: There isn’t one. Last week, three tournaments on the men’s side came and went, and we still have the same three players who qualified for the ATP Tour Finals weeks ago (Zverev, Alcaraz, and Shelton). Yes, some players have been taken out of the running after not gaining enough points last week, but there are still 20 players who could make it into Turin. That should make for a very interesting week, where a pair of 500-level tournaments should give shape to the race. On the other hand, after a look at some of these first-round match-ups, maybe not.
🎾 One to watch: Naomi Osaka vs. Jasmine Paolini (1st round - WTA 500 - Tokyo): Watch this one because it’s an unfortunate first-round match between two players who are known to display some truly stunning tennis.
The record: Jasmine Paolini leads the head-to-head record over Naomi Osaka 1-0.
On the line: Neither one played Tokyo last year, so this is an opportunity for both to stack some points. For Paolini, that’s perhaps a bit more important since she’s on the bubble of not being seeded at the Australian Open in January after a difficult year. And there’s little doubt that Osaka is feeling a certain amount of pressure to perform in her home country, especially after skipping Osaka last week.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
And that’s game.
