It’s championship weekend in Rome, with the men’s and women’s semifinals being decided today. The players still alive in the singles draws represent 34 major singles titles, with 28 of those trophies held by the players in just one men’s semifinal. The matches on Saturday have current champions looking to defend their crowns, former champions trying to regain their past glory, and likely future champions fighting to make a name for themselves. With Roland Garros just eight days away, who will step up and grab the momentum heading into Paris?
Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic
Remarkably, this will be the 51st career meeting between these two all-time greats, the most prolific rivalry among any active ATP players. Djokovic holds a slight 26-24 edge, and has won 11 of their last 13 matches. It’s been over a year since they last faced each other, and Djokovic is not the same player that dominated this rivalry since 2013. Novak was just 6-6 heading into Rome this week, though he’s finally showing signs of his former self, especially in his thrilling three-set victory over Kei Nishikori yesterday. But stepping onto the clay and having the confidence to defeat Rafael Nadal takes an elite level of belief, and I don’t think Djokovic is at that place. Novak is likely a bit fatigued, as his body is not used to playing competitive matches every day. He admitted to the press that he spent about 30 minutes in the scheduling office complaining about his quarterfinal being played so much later in the day than Nadal’s, and then being scheduled for 3pm today. Still, this will be a good test to see exactly how much progress Djokovic has made with his game. And regardless of Novak’s current form, the recent head-to-head must weigh on Nadal’s mind. Rafa told the press yesterday that he’d rather not play an all-time great like Djokovic. Also consider that Rafa has not played his best over the past two weeks. While it’s hard to imagine Nadal losing today, it will be interesting to see how episode 51 of this rivalry plays out. The winner will face either Alexander Zverev or Marin Cilic in the final on Sunday.
Simona Halep vs. Maria Sharapova
Speaking of former champions trying to get back to the top of the sport, Maria Sharapova had the biggest win of her 2018 just yesterday in Rome. She defeated French Open Champion Jelena Ostapenko in an epic battle, which went on for three hours and eleven minutes. Sharapova has also had a few epic and notable encounters with Simona Halep. It was Sharapova who defeated Halep in the 2014 Roland Garros final, which went to 6-4 in the third. And just last year at the US Open, an unseeded Sharapova drew Simona Halep in the first round, and upset the Romanian in another emotional win. Up until that point, Sharapova had completely dominated this rivalry, winning all six of their encounters. But it was in their last meeting, in Beijing last year, where Halep finally got a win over Sharapova. Coming off yesterday’s quarterfinal against Ostapenko, Maria must be physically and emotionally drained, especially considering she hasn’t played a lot of matches this year. She was actually on a four-match losing streak prior to last week in Madrid, so these last two weeks have turned her year around. And Halep must be feeling good after her solid win yesterday over Caroline Garcia, which guaranteed she’ll maintain her number one ranking heading into Roland Garros. As lopsided as their head-to-head is, I would assume Sharapova will need to shorten points and avoid falling behind to have a chance in this one. The winner will face the winner of the Svitolina/Kontaveit semifinal, so we could have a rematch of last year’s Italian Open final if Halep and Svitolina prevail.
