When I was a kid, the draw coming out was bigger than Christmas.

After school I'd fire up the PC and refresh the page every minute until the USTA gods dropped the Boys 14s L4 bracket in Salem, OR. 14-year-old Daniel might have been struggling in middle school Algebra, but he was a god damn quant when it came to tennis draws. I'd map out all of my possible paths to the semis (cocky, I know), evaluate whether I got a good draw or a bad one, and grimace for my doubles partner if he got a rough one.

A bad draw — meaning someone good in the first or second round — meant a miserable drive down I-5. Nightmares about what my parents would say after dragging the whole family to the terrible city of Salem just for me to lose R1. Mind drifting to what other kids would think.

Not exactly a healthy habit, considering I played tons of tournaments throughout juniors.

And I can't imagine it helped me play better or develop as a player. So why do I bring this up?

Because everyone — the media, podcasters, tennis Twitter — goes middle-school-Daniel crazy when a Slam draw drops. Andy Roddick does a full 90-minute pod breaking down both brackets: the tastiest matchups, the soft sections, his picks. Hugh Clarke drops his predictions and dark horses, factoring in form, court speed, weather, all of it. I'm not saying those things shouldn't exist. Human beans love predictions. Especially from behind a keyboard.

But I've heard anecdotally that some pro players don't look at the draw. And I think I understand it a little.

Because the second you see it, your mind races. And at a Grand Slam — where everything is on the line — players do a lot to protect their focus. It's why almost every press conference starts with some boring, but true version of "I have to give so much credit to my team." A big part of that team's job is acting as a shield. There are sponsors, journalists, fans, and a thousand other things constantly trying to grab a slice of the player's attention. The team's job is to keep as much of that away from the one person who needs to stay locked in.

That's how many points Alexander Zverev played to win Roland Garros. All compressed into two weeks. Focusing mind and body to give full effort for 1,451 individual moments — not sets, not games, not matches — is a genuinely insane feat.

That's where winning actually happens.

So is there a right or wrong when it comes to looking at the draw? Not really. I'll still be analyzing the Men's 75s L4 bracket in terrible Salem, OR when I'm old and gray.

But it doesn't change anything. And if anything, it steals focus from the only thing that matters: point number one out of 1,451.

Cristiano Ronaldo has the SIUUUU, Dikembe has the Finger Wag, and the list of iconic athlete celebrations goes on. Which tennis player had the celly pictured below?

A. Tommy Haas

B. Gael Monfils

C. Mansour Bahrami

D. Jo Wilfried Tsonga

Find out at the bottom!

Portlanders might recognize this one: the south entrance of Irving Park's tennis courts! Done by the incredibly talented Sarah K — I need this in my house ASAP. See the painting alongside the real thing in her full post.

Sinner took a tumble during his first round match. Quickly after, his right shoe filled with blood. But when asked if he was in pain after his five set battle he said, “No no. I’m good. It just seems much worse than it is. I’m actually very surprised they let me keep playing because… all white [Wimbledon’s rule], it turned into a little red. It’s just a nail.”

Because obviously toenails are optional in tennis.

Some of the best tennis content I found on the internet this week…

🙅🏼‍♂️ What stops very good players from cracking the Top 100, according to Ethan Quinn’s coach Brian Garber

🌏 Further proof that tennis is a global sport. Check out this insane location for a Futures tournament

🏀 Overheard at Roland Garros: NBA All-Star Bam Adebayo on what it was like meeting Venus Williams for the first time

D. Jo Wilfried Tsonga

4/10 video quality, but here’s the full celebration from a spry 2012 Tsonga