Federer and Nadal are just one win away from facing off in Saturday’s semifinals. Rafa will play a familiar foe in his elder countryman, while Roger will square off against the newest member of the top 10 who is nearly half his age. And Djokovic will renew his rivalry with the beloved big man, Juan Martin Del Potro.
On the women’s side, Madrid Champion Kiki Bertens is just two wins away from becoming the new world No.2, but the world No.1 stands in her way on Friday. In other action, a resurgent Victoria Azarenka meets one of the tour’s most consistent performers, Karolina Pliskova. After one of the most frantic orders of play you’ll ever see on Thursday, Friday looks to be another captivating day at Foro Italico.
Naomi Osaka (1) vs. Kiki Bertens (6)
Both women played two matches yesterday due to the complete rainout on Wednesday, though Osaka advanced much more efficiently than Bertens. Naomi won both matches in straight sets, while Kiki played six sets of tennis and was on court for a full hour longer than Osaka. These two split their two previous meetings, though both were played on hard courts. And Osaka retired after the first set when they played last fall at the WTA Finals. Kiki will walk onto the court with an eight-match win streak, and is the stronger play on clay. But will she be burnt out after playing so much over the past two weeks? Perhaps, though I still consider her the favorite. Osaka is just 10-5 since her Australian Open triumph, and hasn’t beaten a top 20 player in that time.
Roger Federer (3) vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (8)
This will also be the third meeting between these two players, all within the past few months. Of course it was at the Australian Open where the 20-year-old upset the 37-year-old in four tight sets. Federer avenged that loss just a few weeks later in the final of Dubai to win his 100th career title. Tsitsipas now holds victories over all of the Big Three, and will now have played each of those all-time greats within the past seven days. Stefanos upset Nadal in the Madrid semifinals last week, but was taken out by Djokovic in the final. Both of these players also played twice yesterday, though Roger was the only one to face any complications. He needed to save two match points in a third set tiebreak to outlast Borna Coric. I’m concerned about how Federer’s body will respond to having played two matches on clay in one day. While I’m sure he’ll dislike the idea of losing again to his younger opposition, it’s hard not to favor Tsitsipas on this day.
Other Notable Matches on Friday in Rome:
- Madrid Champion Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Juan Martin Del Potro. Del Potro won the first two matches of this latest injury comeback just yesterday, but is only 3-15 lifetime against Djokovic.
- Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Fernando Verdasco. A title-less Nadal this year may finally be finding his mojo, losing just two of 26 games played yesterday. He’s only lost to Verdasco in three of 20 meetings, though one of Fernando’s wins did come on clay.
- Karolina Pliskova (4) vs. Victoria Azarenka (WC). Azarenka leads their head-to-head 4-3, and just defeated Pliskova on clay a few weeks ago in Stuttgart.
- Kei Nishikori (6) vs. Diego Schwartzman. They played a great match at last year’s US Open. This should be good too: all three of their meetings have been tight, with all three going to Nishikori.
- Johanna Konta vs. Marketa Vondrousova. Konta has never been a good clay court player, but has impressed this week. Vondrousova is coming off her second straight upset over Simona Halep.
- Maria Sakkari (Q) vs. Kiki Mladenovic (Q). It’s rare to see two qualifiers face off in the quarterfinals. Mladenovic seems rejuvenated since hiring Naomi Osaka’s former coach, Sascha Bajin.
