👋 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: Jakub Mensik’s magical run in Miami, the clay season has officially begun, Learner Tien takes on Alex Michelsen, plus more in today’s tennis news.

Let’s tennis!

Three Points

🎾 Win your first ATP title, but make it a 1000: Jakub Mensik, the 19-year-old from the Czech Republic, did the unthinkable by defeating his hero, Novak Djokovic, in the Miami Open final on Sunday night. — unthinkable for a number of reasons.

  • Do you believe in fate?: None of this may have happened if it wasn’t for a stroke of luck. Mensik, who was outside the top 50 at the start of the tournament, tried to withdraw from the Miami Open due to inflammation in his right knee. But the referee was out to lunch, and Mensik went to see the physio, instead. “After a few minutes I started to feel a little relief. I took different painkillers, which helped a little bit. I was like: ‘It’s 30 minutes before the match. I can walk. I can run. Let’s see.’ Somehow, I won the first round, and then I had one day off. Day by day, the knee was getting better, and with that also my game.”
  • Round after round: Mensik went on a tear, taking out several seeds — Jack Draper, Arthur Fils, and Taylor Fritz, before defeating Djokovic in the final.
  • When it was over: “You’re the one I idolized when I was young,” Mensik said to Djokovic during the trophy presentation. “I started playing tennis because of you.”
  • Now: Mensik is at a career-high ranking of 24 in the world.
  • Next: Because of his ranking at the cut-off, Mensik is due to play qualifying at Monte Carlo later this week. All eyes on organizers for a wild card.

🎾 Dirt in my eyes: With the Sunshine Double out of the way, the clay season has officially kicked off. Today, five tournaments on the dirt from Houston to Bucharest are in session. Only three of the world’s current top ten among the WTA or ATP players are in action — and they’re all in Charleston: Jessie Pegula, Madison Keys, and Qinwen Zheng.

🎾 Making history: In the WTA rankings released today, Alexandra Eala made history by becoming the first Filipina player to reach the top 100. But in a tournament filled with so many incredible moments — including this one when she lost in the semifinals — the ranking milestone may be blurred compared to other memories.

  • Making the most of the moment: In a sign of things changing within the WTA, the organization wasted no time in putting together a video of Eala as part of its rebranding campaign.