👋 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: Madison Keys on the struggle bus, American men make history, Frances Tiafoe takes on Alex Michelsen, plus more in tennis news today.

Let’s tennis!

Three Points

🎾 The struggle is real: Madison Keys lost to Anna Kalinskaya 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday, posting up some less-than-stellar numbers in the process. Although she won some impressive matches on her return to the tour at Indian Wells, her form has been erratic. Winning a major may have relieved pressure in one sense and created some in another.

  • By the numbers: Madison Keys racked up 40 unforced errors, won less than 50% of first serve points, and only converted on one of her eight break point opportunities.
  • What she said: “This one is special. I needed this for my confidence. I had an unfortunate start to the year, but it’s nice to be back and playing at such a high level,” said Kalinskaya. “I think the key tonight was to change a little bit the rhythm; I did a few drop shots, especially in the first set.” She added: “I didn’t want to go into very long rallies, because she’s a great player and she has unbelievable strong shots, so I tried to step in on the serve, be aggressive as much as I could, and be very consistent ... to keep the level, and I think that was the key.”

🎾 New prices, same products: Price increases on Wilson and Head products have gone into effect at most retailers. The companies say the new prices are a direct response to the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. At first glance, it appears that many rackets have increased by $10-20, and tennis balls have increased in price by $5-10 a case. Those prices were determined before the new tariffs had gone into effect and could be adjusted now that the tariff rates have been disclosed by both the United States and China, where much of tennis equipment is produced.

🎾 A bit of history: For the first time since 1991, there is an all-American quarterfinal line-up on the men’s tour. Jenson Brooskby, Chris Eubanks, Aleksandar Kovacevic, Alex Michelsen, Brandon Nakashima, Tommy Paul, Colton Smith, and Frances Tiafoe have claimed the final eight spots in Houston this week.

  • Picture it: Orlando, 1991. The hard courts of the Prudential-Bache Securities Classic. The quarterfinalists were Andre Agassi, Chuck Adams, Brad Gilbert, MaliVai Washington, Jimmy Arias, Derrick Rostagno, David Pate, and Pete Sampras. Agassi defeated Rostagno in three sets in the final.