With two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek out of the tournament, who will be crowned a first-time Rome champion?
One women’s semifinal is a battle between two Major champions, as Elena Rybakina faces Jelena Ostapenko. The other features two players looking to advance to the biggest final of their career: Veronika Kudermetova and Anhelina Kalinina.
Also on Friday, the men’s doubles semifinals will be played, featuring the top seeds alongside three unseeded teams.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s two most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Friday’s play begins at 1:00pm local time.
Veronika Kudermetova (11) vs. Anhelina Kalinina (30) – Not Before 3:30pm on Center Court
Kudermetova was only 10-9 on the year heading into Madrid, but has now won eight of her last nine matches after reaching back-to-back WTA 1000 semifinals, her best result at this level to date. Veronika has defeated three straight seeds to reach this semifinal (Potapova, Bouzkova, Qinwen).
Similarly, Kalinina was just 10-10 this season prior to this fortnight, and arrived in Rome on a four-match losing streak, having lost her last eight sets played. But after defeating two top 20 seeds in three-setters (Keys, Haddad Maia), she’s achieved her best result at WTA 1000 level. Anhelina is vying for only the second WTA final of her career.
These players have split two previous three-setters on hard courts. Most recently, Kalinina overcame Kudermetova 7-5 in the third this past February in Dubai. But in their rubber match, I give Kudermetova the slight edge. Her recent experience in a WTA 1000 semifinal, as well as playing in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros a year ago, should prove to be valuable experience on Friday.
Elena Rybakina (7) vs. Jelena Ostapenko (20) – Not Before 7:00pm on Center Court
Rybakina is 28-7 this year, and into her third WTA 1000 semifinal of the year. Though she did receive some help along the way, benefiting from the mid-match retirements of both Anna Kalinskaya and Iga Swiatek. Elena is 2-0 in her other WTA 1000 semifinals this year on hard courts, defeating both Swiatek and Jessica Pegula.
Ostapenko is 18-10 in 2023, and took out three consecutive top names to reach her first semifinal of the season (Krejcikova, Kasatkina, Badosa). She had previously advanced twice to the quarterfinals of this event, but failed to go farther. This is Jelena’s seventh WTA 1000 semifinal, and she holds a record of 2-4 in this round.
Ostapenko is 2-1 against Rybakina, though Elena took their most recent meeting in straight sets, earlier this year in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. This will be their first encounter on clay. In another semifinal that could easily go either way, I’m leaning towards Jelena prevailing. Her impressive victories this fortnight indicate that her confidence is peaking, while Rybakina has yet to defeat a seeded player at this tournament in a completed match. But both women possess enough power and aggression to control their own fate if they’re playing their best, or playing their worst.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski vs. Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos – Nys and Zielinski were surprise finalists this past January at the Australian Open. Granollers and Zeballos are two-time Major finalists, and four-time Masters 1000 champions as a team.
Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski (1) vs. Robin Haase and Botic van de Zandschulp – Koolhof and Skupski won seven titles last season, but are still vying for their first in 2023. This is Haase and van de Zandschulp’s first event as a team.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.