Good morning from Tennis Paradise, Court Theorists! ☕️🌴😎
Today’s tennis mood: Blustery with some serious heartwarming vibes.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
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🎾 Winning ugly is still winning: Coco Gauff overcame wind and a 2-5 deficit (not to mention a set point) in the second set to take the win over Kamilla Rakhimova, 6-3, 7-6. During and after the match, criticism rolled in — both online and on the grounds — that the world number four wasn’t looking so sharp, with many wondering if she would be out of the tournament sooner than later. What we all should have learned by now is that Coco is not always going to produce stunning tennis. That’s not the only way she wins — and that is a virtue, not a shortcoming.
What she said: “It’s hard with the [windy] conditions. She makes you play a lot of balls and uncomfortable shots. It’s never easy,” Gauff said after the match. “I felt like if I could get into the tiebreaker, I feel like I have a pretty good tiebreak record. I knew the odds were in my favor when the tiebreaker started.”
Next: In the third round, Gauff faces Alex Eala, who pulled off a gutsy three-set win on Friday night over Dayana Yastremska.
🎾 A note from Jennifer Brady: I briefly chatted with Jenny Brady yesterday morning and conveyed the positive vibes many of you have expressed to me over the last several months as she made her way back into competitive tennis. And, as a note to all of you: “Tell all of your readers I said hi and that I really appreciate all of their support over these years.” 💙
🎾 A different kind of ball drama: In The Daily Theory yesterday, we discussed how the players are puzzling and strategizing over how the new balls are being torn up after just a few minutes of play. Well, here’s one we didn’t see coming…during Clara Tauson’s match against Yulia Putintseva, as the chair umpire said, “new balls, please,” the court crew came to the realization there were none. That resulted in a 15-minute delay while all involved awaited a ball delivery, which wasn’t great news for Tauson, who had gone from serving up 4-3 to immediately getting broken to even things up. In the end, she won 7-6, 6-2.
🎾 One to watch: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Grigor Dimitrov (2nd round - ATP 1000 - Indian Wells): Watch this one purely for the entertainment value of two contrasting styles of play, which have produced some incredibly fun tennis across eight meetings.
The record: Carlos Alcaraz leads the head-to-head record over Grigor Dimitrov 4-2.
On the line: For Alcaraz, this is about getting acclimated to the conditions of Indian Wells — the wind, the bounce, and the balls. Meanwhile, Dimitrov is just trying to notch some wins on the year, which haven’t come freely. This one is also a tough ask.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 80% of you called for Ben Shelton to defeat Reilly Opelka. Shelton won, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3.)
And that’s game.
