The ATP singles semifinals will be played on Friday, as will the WTA doubles semifinals.
For the first time ever, a Masters 1000 semifinal features two Chileans. On Friday afternoon, Alejandro Tabilo, who upset Novak Djokovic earlier this fortnight, will face Germany’s Sascha Zverev. On Friday evening, Nicolas Jarry, who upset Stefanos Tsitsipas on Thursday, takes on American Tommy Paul, who has already taken out two top 10 seeds, Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz.
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 singles play begins at 2:00pm local time.
Alejandro Tabilo (29) vs. Sascha Zverev (3) – Not Before 3:30pm on Center Court
Zverev is now 26-9 on the year, and helped Germany win the United Cup at the start of the season. However, he has not reached the final of an individual event since last September. Sascha won this tournament back in 2017, and reached another final the very next year, though hasn’t returned to that round since. Zverev has won all eight sets he’s played to this stage, but he is 1-5 in his last six Masters 1000 semifinals.
Prior to this tournament, 26-year-old Tabilo had only played in the main draw of seven Masters events, and only once advanced out of the second round. However, after earning 52 match wins at all levels last season, he’s won 26 more during 2024, so he’s been picking up steam at lower-level events. Just a week before this tournament began, he won a Challenger title on clay. Including that run, Alejandro is now on an eight match winning streak. And just like Zverev, he is yet to drop a set in Rome.
In their first career meeting, of course Zverev is the favorite, with his huge edge in experience on such an occasion. But as the ATP outlined here, Tabilo has adopted a new psychological approach to his tennis, helping him to remain more relaxed and focused. If he can continue to play with the same confidence and freedom, against an opponent who often plays nervously in big matches, Alejandro just may pull off another upset.
Nicolas Jarry (21) vs. Tommy Paul (14) – Not Before 8:30pm on Center Court
This is a third Masters 1000 semifinal for Paul, all of which have come within the past year. But the American is yet to reach a final, as he went down in defeat to Jannik Sinner last summer in Canada, as well as to Daniil Medvedev this past March in Indian Wells. But unlike those semifinals, Tommy is the higher seed on Friday, and will be expected to win. He advanced to this round with back-to-back upsets over Medvedev (in two sets) and Hurkacz (in three sets). His three-setter against Hubi was a dramatic affair that lasted nearly three hours on Thursday afternoon.
Later that evening, Jarry also required three sets, and nearly three hours, to overcome his quarterfinal opponent, Stefanos Tsitsipas. Nicolas had previously achieved two Masters quarterfinals, also both within this past year, but his win over the Greek breaks new ground in his career. And just like eventual champion Andrey Rublev in Madrid, Jarry arrived in Rome on a four-match losing streak.
Paul has twice defeated Jarry, though one of those matches was 10 years ago in the lower levels of tennis, while the other came four years ago in qualifying for Adelaide. Their only meeting at this level came last year in the second round of Roland Garros, where Nico prevailed in four sets. But on Friday evening, I give Tommy the slight edge to reach his first Masters 1000 final. The American’s speed and strong return game will put a lot of pressure on Jarry, who has considerably less time to recover from his grueling quarterfinal than Paul.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk (8) vs. Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini – Dolehide and Krawczyk are looking to reach their second WTA 1000 final of the year. The Italian team of Errani and Paolini won a title earlier this season in Linz.
Xinyu Wang and Saisai Zheng vs. Coco Gauff and Erin Routliffe (3) – Xinyu and Saisai upset the top seeds, Hsieh and Mertens, in the quarterfinals. This is the first tournament for the partnership of Gauff and Routliffe, though they are individually two of the best doubles players in the world.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
