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.

Monday features the conclusion of third round ATP singles action, as well as all eight round of 16 matches in the WTA singles draw.

The top two women’s singles players in the world both face resurgent mothers on Monday.  Four-time Major champion Iga Swiatek takes on three-time Major champ Angelique Kerber, while two-time Major champ Aryna Sabalenka squares off against 2018 WTA Finals champ Elina Svitolina.  The WTA round of 16 also includes two other mothers who have won Majors, Naomi Osaka and Victoria Azarenka, as well as reigning US Open champ Coco Gauff.

Monday’s third round ATP singles action is headlined by defending champion Daniil Medvedev, recent Madrid champ Andrey Rublev, and three-time Monte Carlo champ Stefanis Tsitisipas.

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

Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Angelique Kerber – Not Before 3:00pm on Center Court

Swiatek is now an awesome 34-4 this season, and 10-1 on clay, with her only loss on this surface coming in the semifinals of Stuttgart at the hands of Elena Rybakina.  The Madrid champion is on an eight-match winning streak, and as per usual did not drop a set in her first two rounds.  Iga is a two-time champion in Rome, and has not lost a completed match here since 2020.

Clay is most certainly Kerber’s weakest surface, but she has been rather dominant through three rounds, winning all six sets she’s played.  Angie lost six of her first seven matches upon returning from child birth at the start of this season, yet has now taken six of her last nine.  She arrived in Rome just 10-10 lifetime at this event, though she did make a semifinal all the way back in 2012.

Swiatek is 2-0 against Kerber, with both matches taking place on hard courts.  That includes a three-set victory two years ago at Indian Wells, and a straight-setter at the beginning of this season in the United Cup.  On Iga’s best surface, she’s a considerable favorite to make it 3-0 against Angie.

Elina Svitolina (16) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Not Before 8:30pm on Center Court

Sabalenka is 22-6 on the year, and seemed to rediscover her mojo in Madrid, pulling out four three-setters before falling to Swiatek in the final in a third-set tiebreak.  Rome has not been too kind to Aryna thus far in her career, as she arrived with a losing record at this WTA 1000 event.  But she comfortably defeated Dayana Yastremska on Sunday in straight sets.

Svitolina went on quite a tear a year ago upon returning from maternity leave.  She promptly won a title in Strasbourg, then reached the quarters at Roland Garros, and then reached the semis at Wimbledon.  But her form has cooled in 2024, with a record of just 14-8.  However, Elina won back-to-back titles in Rome back in 2017 and 2018, and she easily claimed her first two matches here during this fortnight.

Sabalenka leads their head-to-head 2-1, most recently defeating Svitolina in last year’s Roland Garros quarterfinals by a score of 6-4, 6-4.  While Elina has aimed to play more aggressively since her return to the sport a year ago, she cannot match the aggression of Aryna, who should be able to dictate play and advance on Monday.

Other Notable Matches on Monday:

Naomi Osaka vs. Qinwen Zheng (7) – This tournament marks the first time in over two years that Osaka has won three completed matches at the same event.  She’s yet to drop a set, and already defeated two top 20 players (Kostyuk, Kasatkina) on one of her weakest surfaces.  Qinwen has understandably underperformed since the life-changing achievement of reaching her first Major final this past January in Melbourne, with a record of just 7-6.  Two years ago in San Jose on a hard court, Naomi won their only prior meeting in three sets.

Felix Auger-Aliassime (18) vs. Alex de Minaur (9) – Auger-Aliassime is trying to build on the momentum of advancing to the Madrid final, though de Minaur has been the far better player in 2024, which a record of 24-9.  Felix is 3-1 against Alex at all levels, but the Australian took their only meeting on clay.

Stefanos Tsitsipas (6) vs. Cameron Norrie (27) – Tsitsipas survived a grueling battle on Saturday against an in-form Jan-Lennard Struff, prevailing 6-4 in the third.  Stefanos is 1-1 against Cam, though the Greek’s victory came on clay.

Coco Gauff (3) vs. Paula Badosa – Gauff has lost most of the confidence she had last summer, and she required three sets to beat a lucky loser in the last round, after losing the second set 6-0.  Badosa has not been fully healthy for some time now, but this is the first tournament she has won three matches at since this same event a year ago.  And Paula leads their head-to-head 3-1.

Alexandre Muller (Q) vs. Andrey Rublev (4) – Rublev is now on a seven-match winning streak, after barely advancing in his opening round here over Marcos Giron by a score of 7-5 in the third.  Muller upset the 31^st seed, Arthur Fils, on Saturday to reach the third round of a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time.   

Hamad Medjedovic (Q) vs. Daniil Medvedev (2) – Medvedev claimed two tight sets in the last round against Jack Draper.  Medjedovic is a 19-year-old from Serbia who eliminated 30^th-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. 

Maria Sakkari (5) vs. Victoria Azarenka (24) – Both of these players are 19-8 on the year, though Sakkari won her first two matches in Rome in straights, while both of Azarenka’s matches went the distance.  However, Vika is 2-0 against Maria.

Monday’s full Order of Play is here.