👋 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: Zverev’s disappearing act, Acapulco illness claims several wins, Ben Shelton’s change in demeanor, plus a whole lot more tennis news.

Let’s tennis!

Five Points

🎾 Zverev bolts: Alexander Zverev’s post-Australian Open struggles outlined in The Daily Theory yesterday continued last night in Acapulco when the world number two and top seed lost in straight sets to Leaner Tien, the young up-and-comer from California. Zverev’s tightness was apparent from the start, and it continued with strange shot-making, easy misses, and a general bewilderment. From Tien’s perspective, he performed exactly how we’ve come to expect: calmness, smart serving, and counterpunching until the right shot comes along.

  • What he said: “I just went out there and tried to control my side of the court,” said Tien. “Obviously I knew it was going to be a tough match. To come through feels great... I think just focussing on what I can control and keeping my cool as best as I can has really taken me a long way.”
  • An Irish goodbye: While Tien was still on the court making the above comments, Zverev reportedly walked off the court and straight to a car, bypassing the locker room and his media obligations — something he could be fined for.

🎾 Wiping out the competition: An unspecified illness is ripping through the locker room in Acapulco this week, claiming at least three of the top seeds. Yesterday, Tommy Paul, Casper Ruud, and Holger Rune all called it quits, citing illness. The result? Only the 8th and 9th seeds are alive in the quarterfinals scheduled for today.

🎾 Where is your joy, Ben Shelton?: Last night, Ben Shelton lost to David Goffin — a former top ten player now outside the top 50 and who came into this week 0-5 on the year. Goffin didn’t play an exemplary match. He had 31 unforced errors in two routine sets. But they were fewer than Shelton’s 42.

  • The problem: The exuberance Shelton showed for his first year on tour is simply gone. There is not a smile to be found. Not an ounce of joy coming from the world’s number 14. And that’s not just from last night’s match. It’s an ongoing issue that is contributing to the common view that Shelton can’t get up for anything but majors.

🎾 Change is meh: The WTA has gone through a light rebrand and it’s...fine? It’s a subtle change to the logo with a deep primary color change and some different web fonts. It comes with a campaign under the general slogan “Rally The World:” “This is not a tennis court. This is our stage.” It’s not a bad concept at all. But the WTA has often lacked in follow through. Is there more to this? We’ll have to wait and see.

🎾 What doesn’t happen in Vegas: The men’s MGM Rewards Slam planned for Sunday was scrapped on Wednesday after organizers ran out of players. Originally a face-off between Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz, the match needed reconfiguring after Sinner’s doping ban. No problem, substitute in Casper Ruud. However, now Fritz is out because of an abdominal injury. Tommy Paul was also expected to participate, but he withdrew from Acapulco mid-tournament. Organizers decided against continuing to go down the list. Now, just the women’s match between Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka will take place on Saturday.