👋 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: a late-night classic between Grigor Dimitrov and Gael Monfils, a look at the commitment that kept Venus Williams from accepting that Indian Wells wild card, Elena Rybakina and Mirra Andreeva are set to square off, and Carlos Alcaraz gets bee support.
Let’s tennis!
Three Points
🎾 The show: It was a late-night old-school battle worthy of prime time on Stadium One. Grigor Dimitrov vs. Gael Monfils took more than three hours to settle the two tiebreaks and a 6-4 set match. Dimitrov, 33, the young guy on the court was victorious, but it didn’t seem 38-year-old Monfils lost any steam until the very end. Throughout it all, there was insane shot-making, head-scratching acrobatics, and draw-dropping winners (yes, tempered by more than a few unforced errors).
- Watch it!: If you missed the action and have the ability to stream the replay, do it. If you don’t have that option available to you, catch the highlights on Tennis TV’s YouTube Channel.
- Must see: There were tons of great points, but this is the one everyone is talking about.
🎾 A moment worth capturing: In The Daily Theory yesterday, we called out the Jenson Brooksby vs. Jack Draper match as the one to catch. Yes, there were several good matches yesterday. But this one stood out not just for the tennis, as compelling of a battle as it was. It was what happened at the net that’s worth pointing out — a genuine moment of sportsmanship between two competitors that touched on the human side of what Jenson Brooksby has been through in the last few years.
🎾 Now we know: When Venus Williams said she never asked for an Indian Wells wild card, she noted that she had other plans out of the country. Now we know what those plans were: Paris Fashion Week. She stepped out on Monday in a stunning Old Hollywood look for the Lacoste show, creating quite a stir.
