👋 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.

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On tap today: that Sinner-Alcaraz final, Roland-Garros qualies kick off, some surprising entrants in the final week of clay prep, a wild fifth Grand Slam entry, Danielle Collins takes on Sofia Kenin, plus more in tennis news today.

Let’s tennis!

Four Points

🎾 The Sinner-Alcaraz test: On Sunday, Jannik Sinner took on Carlos Alcaraz in perhaps the most anticipated match from the moment the draw was released nearly two weeks prior. For a set, the match was a true battle between the rivals. However, once the first set came to an end, Alcaraz ran away with the rest of the match, 7-6, 6-1.

  • Deciding factors: Throughout the entire match, Alcaraz not only played the points better, but he also dictated how the points would be played. For most of the first set, Sinner kept up, even if he was uncomfortable being on the receiving end of the role he usually mans. By the second set, he ran out of answers and possibly gas after an intense two weeks for his first tournament back since the end of his doping suspension.
  • What he said: “Tactically, since the beginning till the last ball, I didn’t lose the focus, which is great for me,” Alcaraz said after the match. “Probably one of the best matches I played so far in terms of level, ­maintain all the level during the whole match. So I’m just really proud about that.” He added: “Beating Jannik, winning Rome, both things mix together and give [me] great confidence going to Paris. I always say ‘The final is not about playing, the final is about winning.’ I just repeat [that] approach every time I play a final.”
  • And what he said: “First set for sure was a little bit of a game-changer. But talking generally, [I am] very happy about this tournament,” Sinner said. “It gives me hopefully confidence to play some good tennis also in Paris. Let's see what's coming out there.” He added: “But after three months, coming here, making this result means a lot to me, a lot to my team also. We worked a lot to be here.”

🎾 Qualies kicks off: Today, qualifying at Roland-Garros begins, with a number of players who were once at the top of the game (including major titleholders) competing to get back into the main draw in Paris. It’s also a test run for TNT Sports to get their production house in order before the main event begins on Sunday.

  • ICYMI: This year’s Roland-Garros will not be subject to the confusing patchwork coverage by Tennis Channel, NBC, and Peacock. Instead, a whole new player has entered the tennis broadcast arena: TNT Sports. Get comfortable, because this is a 10-year deal Warner Bros. Discovery signed with the French Tennis Federation for a reported $65 million a year — more than five times the amount Tennis Channel and NBC were paying.

🎾 One last push: There’s one last week of final preparations before the main draw of Roland-Garros begins, with tournaments in Strasbourg, Rabat, Hamburg, and Geneva. Ordinarily, these weeks are for mid-to-lower-ranked players who haven’t gotten quite enough matches in the 1000-heavy clay season. But this year, the players include several players around the top 10 (and those who have recently dropped from the top 10 due to a poor clay season.

  • Surprisingly in action this week: Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, Paula Badosa, Elena Rybakina, Daria Kasatkina, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Novak Djokovic, Frances Tiafoe, and Andrey Rublev.

🎾 More 5th Grand Slam talk: But this time, they mean it. Italian Tennis and Padel Federation president Angelo Binaghi isn’t interested in academic debate about which of the 1000 events is worthy of becoming the next major. He has every intention of making the Internazionali BNL d’Italia an event equal to the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open.

  • What he said: “In what other part of society is there a monopoly that lasts for more than 100 years?” Binaghi said Sunday, as the Italian Open came to a close. “Why are there always four and always the same four? ... It’s absolutely unfair and doesn’t help tennis grow.”
  • Crazy talk?: We here at Court Theory HQ can think of more than a few monopolies that have endured. As far as the other majors are concerned, it took decades before they could agree on how a fifth set should end. But Binaghi may have found a topic where they’ll come to a quick agreement, although they have chosen not to respond to a request for comment thus far.