Third round singles action continues on Sunday at Foro Italico, with some second round matches still to be concluded, as many contests were rescheduled from Saturday due to rain. Some of those matches were featured in yesterday’s preview here.
On Sunday in Rome, six-time and defending champion Novak Djokovic renews what has been a one-sided rivalry with Grigor Dimitrov in the third round. And in a battle of Roland Garros champions, Barbora Krejcikova faces Jelena Ostapenko.
Other matches on Sunday feature two-time defending champ Iga Swiatek, Wimbledon champ Elena Rybakina, and the match most Italian eyes will be on: Holger Rune against Fabio Fognini.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s two most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Sunday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Grigor Dimitrov (26) – Third on Center Court
Djokovic is 18-3 this year, but is yet to win back-to-back matches on clay. He lost his second match in both Monte Carlo and Banja Luka, going down to Lorenzo Mustti and Dusan Lajovic, respectively. And of course, he pulled out of Madrid due to his ongoing elbow issues. However, in a career of massive success at Masters 1000 events, this has definitively been his best one. He’s won the Rome title six times, and reached six other finals. Novak is now 65-10 in Rome, after taking out Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the last round.
Dimitrov is only 12-8 this season, and hasn’t won back-to-back matches since February on any surface. After defeating another Slam champ, Stan Wawrinka, in the last round, he is now just 11-10 in Rome, having reached a semifinal back in 2014.
Overall Djokovic is 10-1 against Dimitrov, with their first encounter occurring at the 2012 Shanghai Masters. Grigor’s only victory came 10 years ago in Madrid, in a match where Novak battled an ankle injury. Despite his elbow injury on this day, Djokovic remains a considerable favorite to advance.
Barbora Krejcikova (10) vs. Jelena Ostapenko (20) – Fifth on Grand Stand Arena
Krejcikova is 20-9 in 2023, with a WTA 1000 title in Dubai. But since that title run nearly three months ago, she’s failed to win more than two matches at any event, losing in the fourth round of the last three WTA 1000 tournaments (Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid). This is only her second appearance in the singles main draw of this event.
Ostapenko is 15-10 on the year, and just 3-2 on clay. She’s now 9-7 lifetime in Rome, having reached the quarterfinals twice across the last five years. But in her other three appearances, she lost in the first round.
Krejcikova leads their tour-level head-to-head 2-1, with all three meetings taking place on hard courts. In a match that could easily go either way based on recent form, with not to separate the two, I give the slight edge to Ostapenko, purely because she feels overdo for a strong run at a big event. And her big swings can allow her to beat almost anyone on any day.
Other Notable Matches on Sunday:
Maria Sakkari (9) vs. Marketa Vondrousova – Sakkari is 20-9 on the year, and 12-4 lifetime in Rome. Vondrousova is 18-7 in 2023, and showed little mercy for Bianca Andreescu on Friday, eliminating her by a score of 6-0, 6-1.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Lesia Tsurenko – Swiatek is now 26-5 this season, and 10-1 on clay. She showed absolutely no mercy for Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Friday, demolishing her 6-0, 6-0. Tsurenko is yet to drop a set through two rounds. Last year at Roland Garros, Iga defeated Lesia 6-2, 6-0.
Fabio Fognini (WC) vs. Holger Rune (7) – Rune is 23-9 on the year, and 9-2 on clay. Fognini is now ranked outside the top 100, but notched impressive victories this week over Andy Murray and Miomir Kecmanovic. Last summer in Canada, Holger beat Fabio in straight sets.
Anna Kalinskaya vs. Elena Rybakina (7) – Rybakina is now 25-7, but has recently been dealing with a lower back injury. She’s 1-2 against Kalinskaya, and they’ve split two meetings within the past two months. In Miami, Elena won in three. In Madrid, Anna won in three.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.