Wednesday provides an overabundance of tennis, with dozens of appetizing matchups around the grounds throughout the day. Rafael Nadal will play his opening match against John Isner, a player who has tested him on clay in the past. Other top ATP names in action include Sascha Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Jannik Sinner, who plays fellow Italian Fabio Fognini.
Second-round WTA matches on Wednesday are headlined by world No.1 Iga Swiatek, who has been unstoppable in her last four tournaments. And two-time Major champion Simona Halep faces Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins.
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 play begins at 11:00am local time.
Rafael Nadal (3) vs. John Isner – Second on Center Court
Nadal is now 22-2 in 2022, yet is coming off a loss to Carlos Alcaraz last Friday in Madrid. This will be Rafa’s fourth match since returning from a rib injury that forced him to miss Monte Carlo and Barcelona. 11 years ago at Roland Garros, Isner became one of the few people to push Nadal to five sets at that event, when he went up two-sets-to-one in the opening round. Overall, eight of the 19 sets they’ve contested have gone to 7-5 or deeper. However, Rafa has won six of those extended sets, with their French Open meeting remaining the only time Isner has taken such a set from Nadal. And considering John is only 11-10 this season in singles, and 0-7 lifetime against Nadal, the King of Clay is a heavy favorite to prevail. But Isner’s serving prowess still makes him an undesirable opponent for most players, and he can often garner a set if it remains tight. And this is the one clay Masters event where the American has previously been a semifinalist, in 2017.
Danielle Collins (7) vs. Simona Halep – Fifth on Pietrangeli
Last summer in Canada, Collins defeated Halep 6-4 in the third, after a near three-hour battle. That was the last victory in a 12-match win streak for Danielle, who claimed back-to-back titles in Palermo and San Jose. But since reaching the Australian Open final in January, Collins is only 4-3, as she’s battled back and abdominal issues. Meanwhile, it feels like Halep is on the verge of a big season. She is 19-5 in 2022, with her only losses since March coming at the hands of Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur, two of the this year’s top performers. With Patrick Mouratoglou as her coach, and the injury issues of last year seemingly behind her, a third Major title could be in Simona’s near future. At an event where Halep is 20-8 lifetime, and where Collins is 2-2, the Romanian is the favorite to advance.
Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:
Sascha Zverev (2) vs. Sebastian Baez (Q) – Zverev will be only three days removed from the thrashing he suffered in the final of Madrid. Meanwhile, between his title run in Estoril and coming through qualifying in Rome, 21-year-old Baez is on an eight-match win streak.
Belinda Bencic (12) vs. Amanda Anisimova – This is a rematch from January’s Australian Open, where Anisimova upset Bencic in the second round 6-2, 7-5. Amanda is 8-2 on clay this season, while Bencic is 9-1.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Elena-Gabriela Ruse (LL) – Swiatek is now on a 23-match win streak, with four consecutive titles dating back to February. Ruse took out American Shelby Rogers in the first round.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) vs. Grigor Dimitrov – Last week in Madrid, Tsitsipas comfortably beat Dimitrov, just as he did in Barcelona as well. Overall Stefanos is 4-1 against Grigor, and 3-0 on clay.
Leylah Fernandez vs. Daria Kasatkina – Both players are 4-4 in their last eight matches. This will be the first career meeting between these two extremely creative players.
Jannik Sinner (10) vs. Fabio Fognini – Sinner is now 21-5 on the year, and 5-2 on clay. Fognini is 12-8, with nine of those wins coming on clay, including a victory on Monday over Dominic Thiem.
Cameron Norrie (7) vs. Marin Cilic – A year ago in the Estoril semifinals, Norrie took out Cilic in two tight sets.
Paula Badosa (2) vs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Q) – Badosa went 17-3 on clay last year, but is a meager 5-3 in 2022. Sasnovich started the season by reaching a tour final in Melbourne.
Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.