👋 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

🎾 An ace down the tee: Madison Keys pulled off perhaps the biggest win of her life against Iga Swiatek in what has been, thus far, the match of the tournament. That win, which took just a little over three hours, ended in the third-set tiebreak. All of it was thrilling, with excellent ball-striking, serving, and defending. (And, coincidentally, how we called it here at Court Theory HQ.) It was, by far, the most confident she has looked in years. Let’s see if she can do it one more time in the finals against Aryna Sabalenka.

🎾 Sorry, bestie: After nearly 30 minutes into the Aryna Sabalenka-Paula Badosa match, a look at the scoreboard revealed it was just 2-2. That’s when the world number one pulled away. The first set lasted only another 24 minutes; the second, 33. The final score was 6-4, 6-2. “I’m sure she’ll hate me for the next day or two, I’m OK with that, I can handle that. And after that, I think we’re back to be friends, back to go out together shopping,” Sabalenka said after the match. “I promise, Paula, we go ­shopping and I pay for whatever she wants.” Badosa promptly accepted: “It’s going to be something really expensive, because now she ­doubled the prize money [by ­reaching the final] so she won’t have the problem for that.”

🎾 Fool us once: Novak Djokovic is continuing to lower expectations of progressing at the Australian Open with the claim of an undisclosed injury. Followers of his career will sense a recurring theme at the later stages of a major before the man with all the records goes on to win the title. It’s unclear if this tactic is for internal or external reasons. Perhaps it only matters whether or not Alexander Zverev takes the line seriously.

🎾 Australians make history: With Olivia Gadecki/John Peers vs.
Kim Birrell/John-Patrick Smith in the mixed doubles final today, history is being made. It’s the first time for an all-Australian mixed doubles final since 1967. You like history, right? Be sure to catch it first on Rod Laver Arena tonight.

And, that’s game.

Watch This!

🔥 Novak Djokovic vs. Alexander Zverev (Semifinals — Australian Open): This match has more questions than answers at this point. What kind of shape is Djokovic in? Is he ready for a possible five-set match against a player whose whole strategy is to drag a match on until his opponent folds? For Zverev, most importantly, does he have the nerve to beat a player he very clearly idolizes?

  • The record: Djokovic overwhelmingly leads this head-to-head 8-4. That includes their most recent meeting (which happens to be on outdoor hard court) at Cincinnati.
  • On the line: Djokovic is looking to get back to the business of winning majors after not winning one all of last year. Similarly, Zverev says he has one job: to win a major.

Keeping an Eye on...

  • Jannik Sinner vs. Ben Shelton (Semifinals — Australian Open)
  • Siniakova/Townsend vs. Andreeva/Shnaider (Semifinals — Australian Open)
  • Hsieh/Ostapenko vs. Dabrowski/Routliffe (Semifinals — Australian Open)
  • Birrell/Smith vs. Gadecki/Peers (Finals — 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!