On Thursday in Rome, the last two men’s singles quarterfinals will be completed.
Also on Thursday, the women’s doubles semifinals will be played, featuring three of the top four seeds.
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.
Yannick Hanfmann (Q) vs. Daniil Medvedev (3) – Not Before 3:00pm on Center Court
Medvedev is now 36-5 on the season, and a much-improved 7-2 on clay. Prior to this fortnight, he had never won a match in Rome, but has now won three in a row, including a straight-set victory over Sascha Zverev in the last round. This is his third career Masters 1000 quarterfinal on clay, after previously achieving that feat twice in Monte Carlo.
Hanfmann makes this the fourth consecutive Masters tournament where a qualifier has reached the quarterfinals. The 31-year-old German has already won six matches across the past nine days, upsetting two top 10 seeds along the way (Fritz, Rublev). Prior to this run, Yannick had only accumulated three main draw wins as Masters events, with two of them coming just two weeks ago in Madrid. His previous career-high ranking was No.92 in the world, but he’ll debut inside the top 65 even with a loss on Thursday, and would move into the top 50 with a win.
In their first career meeting, Medvedev must be favored, even on this surface. His vast amount of experience at this stage of big events, compared to absolutely none that Hanfmann possesses, will be tough to overcome. But if Yannick can grab a lead, and Daniil gets down on himself, anything can happen on Medvedev’s least favorite surface.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) vs. Borna Coric (15) – Not Before 8:30pm on Center Court
Tsitsipas is 24-7 on the year, and 12-3 on clay, having reached the final in Barcelona three weeks ago. He is yet to drop a set through three matches, most recently defeating Lorenzo Musetti. He’s now 12-5 lifetime in Rome, and looking to return to the final after first reaching that round here a year ago.
Coric had a losing record in 2023 before arriving in Madrid, but is now 15-9 after achieving back-to-back Masters 1000 quarterfinals, advancing as far as the semis in Madrid. However, it’s worth noting he is yet to face a top 50 player at this event. Borna is vying for his fifth career Masters semifinal.
Their first meeting occurred five years ago at this same event, when Tsitsipas was victorious thanks to Coric retiring after just five games. Then at the 2020 US Open, Stefanos was up two-sets-to-one and 5-1 in the fourth, yet somehow lost that match despite holding six match points. Borna also claimed both of their matches in 2022, including the final of Cincinnati. Tsitsipas finally earned another win over Coric this season at the United Cup, bringing their overall head-to-head to 3-2 Coric. But on this surface, the Greek must be considered a significant favorite to advance. And with Alcaraz and Djokovic eliminated from the tournament, Tsitsipas is the favorite to win this title.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula (1) vs. Desirae Krawczyk and Demi Schuurs (3) – Pegula and Gauff are vying for their fourth final of the year, while Krawczyk and Schuurs are looking for their second.
Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens (4) vs. Marie Bouzkova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands – Hunter and Mertens are regular partners, but this is Bouzkova and Mattek-Sands’ first event as a team.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
