👋 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.

On tap today, we’ve got: The double bounce seen around the world, Ben Shelton takes on broadcasters, Jannik Sinner on cruise control, the AO rowdy crowd is nothing to see (apparently), Iga Swiatek takes on Madison Keys, and a bunch more Australian Open news.

Let’s tennis!

Four Points

🎾 The heat is off: Jannik Sinner needed less than two hours to take down Alex de Minaur in front of his home crowd last night. So far at this Australian Open, the world number one has only faced one challenge — the heat. But with only night matches ahead, that factor is sidelined. So, the question is, can anybody keep Sinner from defending his title this year? We’ll just have to wait and see. But the Magic 8 Ball says: “Concentrate and ask again.”

🎾 The double bounce that had us all questioning the rules: In her match against Emma Navarro, Iga Swiatek had a double bounce on her side of the net. It was so fast and so close that it took multiple angles for at-home viewers to get any kind of confirmation as to what actually happened, leading to a heated debate as to why Navarro wasn’t allowed to challenge the non-call. “It happened so fast. In the back of your head, you’re like, ‘OK maybe I can still win the point even though it wasn’t called,’” Navarro said after the match, adding, “It’s going to be a downer if I stop the point and it turns out it wasn’t a double bounce.”

🎾 Shelton swings bigger: In his post-match press conference, American Ben Shelton called out broadcasters in Australia for some incredibly shoddy work and even worse humaning, pointing out that it isn’t just Novak Djokovic who has been mistreated by broadcasters over the last week and then some. He listed a number of incidents that affected him and his fellow players. “I feel like broadcasters should be helping us grow our sport and help these athletes who just won matches on the biggest stage enjoy one of their biggest moments. I feel like there’s just been a lot of negativity. I think that’s something that needs to change.” Amen.

🎾 Cheers! 😬: Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley insists that rowdy crowds aren’t a problem because it’s just “one or two.” Tiley said: “There are always going to be moments [of rowdy behavior], but the energy that it brings to the players, the event is remarkable, so for that we appreciate it.” That seems like an odd take on the same year they had to move a match to a different court because the drunken environment became too much for players.

And, that’s game.

What They Said

I thought I handled it really well to put myself in this position. I would have loved to do more today, but this is what happens sometimes in tennis. Look, the negative is after playing some great tennis on home soil and gaining so much, you feel like you just have been slapped across the face, to be honest, to finish off like that...I still don’t think this is my ceiling.

-Alex de Minaur after losing to Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

Watch This!

🔥 Madison Keys vs. Iga Swiatek (Semifinals — Australian Open): Let’s face it. Iga is on a tear, dominating every opponent she’s faced in this tournament so far. But, in part, that’s because she hasn’t faced the kind of top, hard-hitting opponent she struggles with. That’s where Madison Keys comes in. If Keys can manage to rush Swiatek by hugging the baseline and hitting big to big targets, this will be a truly competitive match. If Keys doesn’t manage that strategy right off the bat, her husband/coach Bjorn Fratangelo will be there to remind her.

  • The record: This head-to-head is overwhelmingly in Iga Swiatek’s favor, 5-1. But it’s a bit more complicated if we look a little closer. Three of those wins were on the red clay of Europe — a given Iga would take those. On hard court, however, the record is 1-1, with Keys winning the most recent meeting at Cincinnati in 2022.
  • On the line: Iga Swiatek is looking to kick off her new coaching partnership with Wim Fissette with a major title (not to mention making the Australian Open for the first time in her career). She also wants her number one spot back after losing it thanks to a nonsense provisional doping suspension. For Madison Keys, winning this match would represent a reward for all the changes she’s made in the last 12 months, proving to the world she belongs back in the top 10 — and, more importantly, that she ain’t done yet.

Keeping an Eye on...

  • Aryna Sabalenka vs. Paula Badosa (Semifinals — Australian Open)
  • Goransson/Verbeek vs. Bolelli/Vavassori (Semifinals — Australian Open)
  • Krawietz/Putz vs. Heliovaara/Patten (Semifinals — Australian Open)

Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.

Read, Watch, Listen

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Which matches are you watching? What news caught your eye today? Hit the comments below!