Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️
Today’s tennis mood: Baffled at tournament organizers but chuckling at Rafa Jodar’s shoe fix.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 On tap: It’s more third-round action today in Cincinnati, and we’ve got some super curious matches on the schedule. Can an in-form Nuno Borges finally tally a win against Andrey Rublev (who is up 5-0)? Is Sloane Stephens ready to keep her streak going when she faces Marta Kostyuk? Is Michael Zheng ready to level up once again when he faces Lorenzo Musetti? And do we have the patience to wait for the Learner Tien vs. Frances Tiafoe night match?
🎾 An assessment: The last time Serena and Venus played doubles together was the 2022 U.S. Open. And, in the first game of their much-anticipated return Monday night against Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns, it seemed like no time had passed. Venus cranked serves. Serena viciously poached. They made a statement. The rest of the set featured none of that tennis. They quickly dropped it 6-2. In the second set, Venus and Serena regained their aggressive form and quickly took it 6-1. Then, inexplicably, came a rookie move. They took an off-court break before going into the third-set tiebreak. Kostyuk and Stearns talked with their coaches, and Serena cooled off. They went down 6-0 right away and, after regaining form and some hope, eventually lost 10-8 with a Venus double fault on match point.
What she said: “I thought it was fun,” Serena said after the match. “I thought it was special. We kicked off a little rust in the middle of the match and just, you know [were] starting to feel it. I didn’t come out here to win this tournament. Winning is obviously great. But in this position just, you know, having fun. It was really cool to be able to do this again.”
Next: It’s not exactly clear, but let’s hope they’re playing together at the U.S. Open. Because, first set aside, that was extremely fun to watch.
🎾 Mixed up: U.S. Open organizers released the newest set of entrants for the mixed doubles event next week, and the level of disrespect towards doubles players in a doubles event truly knows no bounds. World #1 Katerina Siniakova and world #1 Henry Patten are playing together. And they’ve been placed in qualifying. So are several other major titleholders. Again, there’s no doubt this is a popular event for fans. Is it still worthy of a major, though? Not so sure.
🎾 One to watch: Learner Tien vs. Frances Tiafoe (3rd round - ATP 1000 - Cincinnati): Watch this one because the last time it was an explosive battle, going 7-5 in the third. Expect Tien to spread the court and use geometry you didn’t know existed. And expect Tiafoe to use his supreme athleticism to run those shots down and come up with power not many others would have in those positions. This match will likely be decided by how many times Tiafoe can do that in a point and how well he serves.
The record: The head-to-head record between Learner Tien and Frances Tiafoe is tied at one apiece.
On the line: For both players, this match represents a chance at some continuity and confidence going into the U.S. Open, which is particularly important after each had early exits in Flushing Meadows.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: 55% of you called for Alex Eala to defeat Amanda Anisimova. Anisimova won 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.)
And that’s game.
