Wednesday will host the first two ATP singles quarterfinals, as well as the last two WTA quarterfinals.

The WTA singles quarterfinals on Wednesday include three Major champions, and a Major finalist who is currently playing the best tennis of her career.  And all four are some of the sport’s most aggressive ball strikers.  In the afternoon, two-time Australian Open champ Aryna Sabalenka squares off against Roland Garros champ Jelena Ostapenko.  In the evening, another two-time Aussie Open champ, Victoria Azarenka, takes on Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins.

Also, the ATP singles quarterfinals commence on Wednesday.  They feature a matchup between two of the ATP’s top 10 performers of the year, Sascha Zverev and Taylor Fritz, as well as one between two men looking for their first Masters 1000 semifinal, Alejandro Tabilo and Zhizhen Zhang.

Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s two most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule.  Wednesday’s singles quarterfinals begin at 1:00pm local time.

Jelena Ostapenko (9) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Not Before 1:00pm on Center Court

Within the past three weeks, Sabalenka is now 8-1, with her only loss coming in a dramatic final against World No.1 Iga Swiatek in Madrid.  But seven of those nine matches have gone three sets, and it appears all that tennis has taken a toll on Aryna.  She was treated multiple times during her fourth round match against Elina Svitolina for back issues, yet still prevailed in a third-set tiebreak.

Ostapenko also required a third-set tiebreak to win her fourth round match, against qualifier Rebecca Sramkova.  Jelena got off to a hot start in 2024, taking 14 of her first 16 matches.  However, she has significantly cooled off in recent months, as this is the first tournament where she’s won three matches since early February.

Sabalenka has claimed both of her prior encounters with Ostapenko, which occurred on hard courts.  In this matchup between perhaps the WTA’s most aggressive baseliners, the player who can better manage their unforced error count will likely prevail.  And despite her back issues, I give the edge to Aryna, as she’s continually pulled out tight matches against top players during this clay court season.

Victoria Azarenka (24) vs. Danielle Collins (13) – Not Before 7:00pm on Center Court

Collins’ form since announcing this will be her last season on tour has been phenomenal.  She has now won 26 of her last 30 matches at all levels, dating back three months to the beginning of qualifying in Doha.  And even more impressively, since the start of the Miami Open, she is 18-1, with two titles.  And most of her victories have been in completely dominant fashion, including this fortnight where she has not dropped a set.  “The Danimal” is now vying for her third WTA 1000 semifinal, and her first outside of Miami.

Azarenka has quietly compiled a record this year of 20-8, with only two semifinal appearances to date (Brisbane, Miami).  She won two three-setters to start this event, before comfortably taking out Maria Sakkari in the last round with the loss of just five games.  Vika is now 28-12 lifetime in Rome, where she was a finalist all the way back in 2013.  However, she has lost her last three quarterfinals at Foro Italico.

These players have split two previous meetings, both on hard courts.  And this is their first matchup in five years, so their history does not provide much evidence regarding Wednesday’s outcome.  But each player’s recent history likely does, and based on the way Collins has been steamrolling the competition, I’m picking the American to advance to the semifinals.

Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:

Alejandro Tabilo (29) vs. Zhizhen Zhang – This is a first Masters 1000 quarterfinal for Tabilo, who upset Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov in the last two rounds.  Zhizhen reached this same round a year ago in Madrid, and has now equaled that feat thanks to victories over Adrian Mannarino and Ben Shelton.  When these two met in qualifying for Wimbledon in 2021, Zhang won via two close sets.

Sascha Zverev (3) vs. Taylor Fritz (11) – Zverev is yet to drop a set, while Fritz outlasted Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday in three.  Sascha is 4-3 against Taylor, though they have never played on clay.

Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.

Tuesday features the first two WTA singles quarterfinals, as well as all eight ATP round of 16 singles matches.

We are one round away from a blockbuster semifinal between Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.  However, both must first overcome big-hitting competition on Tuesday.  Swiatek faces a red-hot Madison Keys, while Gauff takes on Australian Open runner-up Qinwen Zheng.

Plus, Tuesday will host all fourth round matches in the ATP singles draw, with six of the top 10 seeds still remaining. 

Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s two most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule.  Tuesday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.

Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Madison Keys (18) – Not Before 1:00pm on Center Court

Swiatek survived a tough test on Monday afternoon from Angelique Kerber to win her ninth match in a row.  Iga is now 17-2 lifetime in Rome, and is yet to drop a set this fortnight.  And less than two weeks ago, she comfortably defeated her next opponent, with the loss of just four games. 

Keys has only claimed one of four meetings with Swiatek, and that victory came on a fast hard court in Madison’s home country.  But the American has won all seven of her matches on European clay this year against players not ranked No.1 in the world.  And she’s already beaten two seeded players during this event (Haddad Maia, Cirstea).

So can Keys challenge Swiatek on Tuesday?  If she wasn’t able to do so in the altitude of Madrid, then I don’t like her chances in Rome, which plays slower than Madrid and will reward her power to an even lesser degree.  Iga is a strong favorite to reach her eighth WTA 1000 semifinal out of her last nine appearances.

Coco Gauff (3) vs. Qinwen Zheng (7) – Not Before 8:30pm on Center Court

Gauff’s best tennis has escaped her of late, but she took after her coach Brad Gilbert by “winning ugly” on Monday, gritting her way back from a set down to take out Paula Badosa.  Coco will now vie for her first semifinal since Indian Wells two months ago.  She previously advanced to a semifinal three years ago in Rome, where she is now 11-4 lifetime.

On Monday, Qinwen picked up her best victory since reaching the Australian Open final in January, defeating Naomi Osaka in straight sets.  Zheng had extra motivation in that contest, as Wim Fessette abruptly left her team at the end of last season to return to Naomi’s team.  On Tuesday, Qinwen is looking to unlock another career milestone: achieving her first WTA 1000 semifinal, after previously going 0-3 in quarterfinals.

This is the first of what will likely be many career meetings between 20-year-old Coco and 21-year-old Zheng.  On Tuesday night, I favor Gauff to take their initial encounter.  The American’s recent form, while not stellar, has still been stronger than Qinwen’s.  And as Tennis Channel’s Jimmy Arias marveled on Monday, Coco’s speed around the court is unmatched on the WTA tour.

Other Notable Matches on Tuesday:

Taylor Fritz (11) vs. Grigor Dimitrov (8) – Fritz is now 9-3 this season on clay, while Dimitrov is just 4-2.  They have split two prior encounters, both of which were on this same surface.

Tommy Paul (14) vs. Daniil Medvedev (2) – Medvedev, the defending champion, required nearly three hours to defeat qualifier Hamad Medjedovic late in the day on Monday.  Paul spent nearly half that amount of time to win in straight sets on the same day.  Daniil is 3-0 against Tommy, most recently beating him in three sets two months ago in the Indian Wells semifinals.

Hubert Hurkacz (7) vs. Sebastian Baez (17) – After dominating Rafael Nadal over the weekend, Hurkacz followed that up with another straight-set victory on Monday.  Baez upset Holger Rune in the last round, to reach the round of 16 at a Masters 1000 event for the first time.  This is their first career meeting.

Stefanos Tsitsipas (6) vs. Alex de Minaur (9) – Tsitsipas defeated Cam Norrie on Monday, while de Minaur came from a set down to eliminate Felix Auger-Aliassime.  Stefanos has claimed 12 of their 14 matches at all levels, though their last matchup went to the Australian, a few months ago in Acapulco.

Tuesday’s full Order of Play is here.

Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff are into the quarter-finals in Rome after surviving fourth round tests against Angelique Kerber and Paula Badosa respectively.

Starting with Swiatek, the Pole secured a 7-5 6-3 victory over former Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber.

The world number one is aiming to win her third Rome title and started the match with aggressive serving.

After securing the break in the eighth game, Swiatek was broken back in the following game as Kerber increased the intensity on return.

However a hard-fought break of serve in the twelfth game sealed the set for Swiatek who broke on her third set point.

The second set didn’t start as well for Swiatek who seemingly spent a lot of energy on winning the first set as she lacked key moments of concentration with Kerber breaking in the opening game.

As expected though Swiatek bounced back well claiming two breaks of serve before serving out the match to love.

Next up for Swiatek is Madison Keys in a rematch from their semi-final contest in Madrid last week which the Pole won.

Gauff Edges Past Rejuvenated Badosa

In the other big contest of the day Coco Gauff prevented Paula Badosa from reaching a second consecutive Rome quarter-final as the American claimed a 5-7 6-4 6-1 victory.

The contest lasted almost two and a half hours as Gauff was forced to work hard against a rejuvenated Badosa.

However the former Roland Garros finalist powered through the third set to set up a meeting with seventh seed Qinwen Zheng.

The Australian Open finalist defeated Naomi Osaka in straight sets as both Gauff and Swiatek’s quarter-final matches will take place on Tuesday.