👋 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: Jannik Sinner’s multiple opponents, Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic, Madison Keys moves on, Elina Svitolina on facing Russian opponents, plus a whole bunch more.
Let’s tennis!
Four Points
🎾 Jannik Sinner’s two opponents: It was a strange match for the world number one, who limped, shook, and generally suffered on his way to a four-set win against Holger Rune. It was a battle against Rune, as well as his own body. “I was not feeling really well. I think we saw that today, I was struggling physically. Came here as late as possible. I knew that it was going to be very, very difficult today – playing against a tough opponent, but also playing against myself a little bit.”
🎾 Djokovic’s Channel Nine boycott is over: The completely unnecessary distraction that Tony Jones served up is — at the moment — over now that Jones, who has a record of inappropriately making himself the story instead of presenting it, has apologized for what many saw as mocking both Serbian fans and Novak Djokovic. “Novak acknowledges the apology has been given in public as requested,” read a Tennis Australia statement issued on Monday, “and is now moving on and focusing on his next match.” Worth noting: the statement says “acknowledges” and not “accepts.” This episode may not be done just yet.
🎾 The luckiest loser: The story of Eva Lys, the 23-year-old Australian Open lucky loser, who was receiving treatment when she learned she had made the main draw just 10 minutes before her match, has come to an end after losing to Iga Swiatek 6-0, 6-1. “It’s definitely the nicest week I’ve had in my life just because it wasn’t really only about the result, but also about the whole story,” Lys said. “This is the week I’ve been working for, for ages. I was always waiting for that moment. I’ve had a lot of nights where I was actually talking to my parents, often with tears, asking, When will the time come?” The time has come — and with a huge payday that genuinely (and adorably) shocked her.
