By Matthew Marolf
This is the last week for the sport’s top stars to garner momentum ahead of Roland Garros, which starts in just 13 days. And they’ll play at the Foro Italico, one of the most picturesque tennis venues in the world. Today’s most newsworthy item is the return of Serena Williams. In her first match in two months, she’ll face the same exact person she last faced. A bit more on that later, but here’s what look to be the most intriguing matchups on Monday’s schedule.
Elise Mertens vs. Venus Williams
This will be Venus’ first match since Miami nearly two months ago. Her and her sister have made a habit in recent years of taking the first part of the clay season off. With only 19 wins over the past 52 weeks, Venus now finds herself ranked 50th in the world. Mertens is ranked a full 30 spots ahead of Venus, who will turn 39 next month.
The 23-year-old from Belgium had a career highlight in February, when she won the title in Doha by defeating three top 10 players. But since that time, she’s gone just 4-6. While she’ll still be the favourite over Venus on clay, this certainly isn’t an unwinnable match for the highly competitive veteran, who’s pulled off many surprising wins over tough opposition in recent years.
Borna Coric (13) vs. Felix Auger Aliassime
This will be the first match of the day on Campo Centrale, and should be a good one. Their only previous meeting was two months ago in Miami, where the 18-year-old Canadian was a qualifier and upset Coric in straight sets. And Felix can play on the clay as well: he already has 10 match wins on the surface this year.
Borna is coming off the best season of his career, which ended with a Davis Cup title. But in 2019, he’s failed to follow-up. The 22-year-old has only accrued 13 wins this year, and only one over a top 20 player. He’s yet to win a title this season, or even reach a final. Auger Aliassime has been the better player this year, and should be considered a slight favorite to get his second straight win over Coric. But Coric is a fighter who will give his all to avoid another loss to his younger opponent.
Other Notable Matches on Monday in Rome:
Serena Williams (10) vs. Rebecca Peterson (Q). The last time she played a match in March, a less-than-100% Serena needed three sets to defeat this same opponent, a 23-year-old from Sweden. What form will Serena be in for her first clay court match in nearly a year?
Italian No.1 Fabio Fognini (10) vs. Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga (PR). Jo is still struggling with a knee injury, which forced him to miss over six months of last season, and to pull out of Madrid last week.
