👋 Welcome back to The Daily Theory, our morning rundown to help you stay on top of your favorite sport. I’m Allen McDuffee, your guide to all things tennis.
Let’s tennis!
Four Points
🎾 Sustained attacking style: Reilly Opelka had some choice words for chair umpire Greg Allensworth during and after his three-set, second-round win over Cameron Norrie on Thursday. Serving at 5-4, 30-all, Opelka became annoyed by somebody in the crowd who was coughing as he waited to serve. “You doing it on f****** purpose or what? Go the f*** inside buddy,” Opelka barked at the spectator. That earned him a code violation, which translated into a point penalty, giving Norrie a point to break back. Then things really went off the rails. Eventually, Opelka won the match and skipped shaking hands with Allensworth, while giving him thumbs down. It didn’t stop there. After the match, Opelka described him as “bush league” and “amateur hour” before suggesting the ATP should suspend him. He had much more to say about Allensworth, and The Athletic caught it all.
🎾 The worst scheduling predicament: Madison Keys has withdrawn from the Dubai Duty Free Championships, citing a leg injury. The decision couldn’t have been an easy one, given the opportunity to rack up some more points at a 1000 event. But her call must’ve been doubly difficult, knowing she won’t have any tournament play between the Australian Open and round one of Indian Wells thanks to her expulsion from Austin.
🎾 A bad day at the office for Americans: The best chance of getting an American through to the next round on Thursday was having another American across the net. In Dallas alone, Frances Tiafoe lost to Yoshihito Nishioka, Ben Shelton lost to Jaume Munar, Michael Mmoh lost to Casper Ruud, and top-seeded Taylor Fritz lost to Denis Shapovalov. In tough three-setters, Tommy Paul took down American upstart Ethan Quinn, and as previously mentioned, Reilly Opelka defeated Cameron Norrie. On the women’s side, Peyton Stearns, the third seed at Cluj-Napoca, lost in straight sets to Lucia Bronzetti. And, Caroline Dolehide put up a valiant effort against the fifth seed Katerina Siniakova before losing 6-4 in the third set.
🎾 From the Department of Can’t Catch a Break: Canada’s Bianca Andreescu has delayed the start to her 2025 season once again after pulling out of the Merida Open because of an emergency appendectomy. “The surgery went smoothly, and I’m on the road to recovery. My plan is to be back on the court for the clay season, stronger than ever,” she posted on Instagram. Andreescu cited personal reasons for withdrawing from the Auckland Open and Australian Open.
And, that’s game.
What They Said
I love tennis and I still win a lot of money. That’s not going to happen. I’ll keep playing as long as I can. If I drop out of the top hundred, I’ll have to look at it again. But that’s probably not going to happen. I’m pretty sure I’ll come back strong enough. And that’s it.
-Daniil Medvedev on retirement rumors.
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Watch This!
🔥 Tommy Paul vs. Reilly Opelka (Quarterfinals ATP 500 - Dallas): A match between friends who know each other’s games well from practicing together for years, but this is their first tour-level battle? Yes, please. We should expect to see it all: tension, a few laughs, and some nerves. But if Opelka continues to keep his serve up, the likelihood of two or three tiebreaks goes up, as well. And if Opelka is feeling as confident as he has, expect him to take chances smacking returns for a shot at breaking the Paul serve. As for Tommy Paul, his game plan will likely be to put as many balls in play to see if he can rack up a devastating unforced error count on Opelka — and to see if he can get the big man on the run.
The record: Tommy Paul and Reilly Opelka have never faced each other on the ATP Tour. Their only meeting on the pro level was in 2018 at an ATP Challenger in Champaign. Opelka won that semifinal match in three sets.
On the line: Opelka has made it clear this tournament would go a long way to putting him back on track for his career. A win against Paul would put him back at the top 100 mark, meaning he wouldn’t need to rely on as many wild cards (as was required for Dallas). As for Tommy Paul, as the defending champion, he’s facing some pressure. He’s looking to maintain those points and score a few more from this year’s Dallas upgrade to a 500 event.
Keeping an Eye on...
Ashlyn Krueger vs. Linda Noskova (Semifinals WTA 500 - Abu Dhabi)
Elena Rybakina vs. Belinda Bencic (Semifinals WTA 500 - Abu Dhabi)
Stefanos Tsitispas vs. Mattia Belluci (Quarterfinals ATP 500 - Rotterdam)
Andrey Rublev vs. Hubert Hurkacz (Quarterfinals ATP 500 - Rotterdam)
Tommy Paul vs. Reilly Opelka (Quarterfinals ATP 500 - Dallas)
Denis Shapovalov vs. Tomas Machac (Quarterfinals ATP 500 - Dallas)
Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.
Read, Watch, Listen
Elena Rybakina took down Ons Jabeur, but it wasn’t easy.
The match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Tallon Griekspoor felt like it started yesterday and ended today, according to the victor.
Rafael Nadal has reportedly sold a 44.9% stake in his academy for nearly $100 million. He retains 55.1% of the ownership.
Carlos Alcaraz demonstrates the one-two punch nobody talks about.
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Which matches are you watching? What news caught your eye today? Hit the comments below!
