Aryna Sabalenka overcame pre-match injury doubts in order to reach the Rome semi-finals with a 6-2 6-4 win over Jelena Ostapenko.

The world number two entered the match with injury doubts having grinded past Elina Svitolina a couple of days ago.

However Sabalenka produced a dominant performance to reach her second consecutive semi-final having lost a thrilling final in Madrid last week.

Speaking after the match Sabalenka revealed that she underwent treatment for most of the day before the contest with Ostapenko, “I was testing my body on the warmup and I felt, `OK, I’m probably going to go on the court and play,’” Sabalenka told the WTA website.

“And I’m super happy I was able to play without pain today. Hopefully, with every day I will feel better and better. I would definitely say that was the best performance of the tournament.”

Now Sabalenka aims to win her first title in Rome as she will play her second ever semi-final at the Foro Italico against either Danielle Collins or Victoria Azarenka.

It’s a tournament that Sabalenka thrives on as she told reporters earlier on in the week, “Yeah, I’m super happy to be back in Rome, one of my favorite tournaments,” Sabalenka explained.

“Madrid was tough. Still happy with those couple of weeks and looking forward for here.”

Sabalenka has a combined 9-1 winning record against her potential opponents for the semi-final.

Wednesday will host the first two ATP singles quarterfinals, as well as the last two WTA quarterfinals.

The WTA singles quarterfinals on Wednesday include three Major champions, and a Major finalist who is currently playing the best tennis of her career.  And all four are some of the sport’s most aggressive ball strikers.  In the afternoon, two-time Australian Open champ Aryna Sabalenka squares off against Roland Garros champ Jelena Ostapenko.  In the evening, another two-time Aussie Open champ, Victoria Azarenka, takes on Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins.

Also, the ATP singles quarterfinals commence on Wednesday.  They feature a matchup between two of the ATP’s top 10 performers of the year, Sascha Zverev and Taylor Fritz, as well as one between two men looking for their first Masters 1000 semifinal, Alejandro Tabilo and Zhizhen Zhang.

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 singles quarterfinals begin at 1:00pm local time.

Jelena Ostapenko (9) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Not Before 1:00pm on Center Court

Within the past three weeks, Sabalenka is now 8-1, with her only loss coming in a dramatic final against World No.1 Iga Swiatek in Madrid.  But seven of those nine matches have gone three sets, and it appears all that tennis has taken a toll on Aryna.  She was treated multiple times during her fourth round match against Elina Svitolina for back issues, yet still prevailed in a third-set tiebreak.

Ostapenko also required a third-set tiebreak to win her fourth round match, against qualifier Rebecca Sramkova.  Jelena got off to a hot start in 2024, taking 14 of her first 16 matches.  However, she has significantly cooled off in recent months, as this is the first tournament where she’s won three matches since early February.

Sabalenka has claimed both of her prior encounters with Ostapenko, which occurred on hard courts.  In this matchup between perhaps the WTA’s most aggressive baseliners, the player who can better manage their unforced error count will likely prevail.  And despite her back issues, I give the edge to Aryna, as she’s continually pulled out tight matches against top players during this clay court season.

Victoria Azarenka (24) vs. Danielle Collins (13) – Not Before 7:00pm on Center Court

Collins’ form since announcing this will be her last season on tour has been phenomenal.  She has now won 26 of her last 30 matches at all levels, dating back three months to the beginning of qualifying in Doha.  And even more impressively, since the start of the Miami Open, she is 18-1, with two titles.  And most of her victories have been in completely dominant fashion, including this fortnight where she has not dropped a set.  “The Danimal” is now vying for her third WTA 1000 semifinal, and her first outside of Miami.

Azarenka has quietly compiled a record this year of 20-8, with only two semifinal appearances to date (Brisbane, Miami).  She won two three-setters to start this event, before comfortably taking out Maria Sakkari in the last round with the loss of just five games.  Vika is now 28-12 lifetime in Rome, where she was a finalist all the way back in 2013.  However, she has lost her last three quarterfinals at Foro Italico.

These players have split two previous meetings, both on hard courts.  And this is their first matchup in five years, so their history does not provide much evidence regarding Wednesday’s outcome.  But each player’s recent history likely does, and based on the way Collins has been steamrolling the competition, I’m picking the American to advance to the semifinals.

Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:

Alejandro Tabilo (29) vs. Zhizhen Zhang – This is a first Masters 1000 quarterfinal for Tabilo, who upset Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov in the last two rounds.  Zhizhen reached this same round a year ago in Madrid, and has now equaled that feat thanks to victories over Adrian Mannarino and Ben Shelton.  When these two met in qualifying for Wimbledon in 2021, Zhang won via two close sets.

Sascha Zverev (3) vs. Taylor Fritz (11) – Zverev is yet to drop a set, while Fritz outlasted Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday in three.  Sascha is 4-3 against Taylor, though they have never played on clay.

Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.

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.