Friday features the men’s singles semifinals, as well as all four semifinals in doubles.
In Thursday’s quarterfinals, Jannik Sinner broke Novak Djokovic’s long-standing record for the longest Masters 1000 winning streak (32), with a straight-set victory over Andrey Rublev. Sinner is just two wins away from his record-extending sixth consecutive Masters title, a record he already stole from Djokovic. In Friday’s semifinals, he plays former Rome champion Daniil Medvedev.
The other men’s singles semifinal sees three-time Major runner-up Casper Ruud take on another Italian, Luciano Darderi, who has already saved four match points during this fortnight.
Casper Ruud (23) vs. Luciano Darderi (18) – Not Before 3:30pm on Campo Centrale
Ruud has dropped only one set through four matches, against Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals. He’s now defeated three top 20 players in a row, to reach his fourth semifinal in Rome. However, Casper is 0-3 in previous semifinals, with two losses to Novak Djokovic, and one to Holger Rune.
This is a first Masters semifinal for Darderi, who had never before advanced beyond the third round at a Masters. But the 24-year-old is the reigning champion at three other ATP clay court events, and this past week he has won a trio of three-setters over seeded players, including saving match points against second-seeded Alexander Zverev. Luciano sits at a projected new career-high of No.16 in the live rankings.
Across the past 52 weeks, Darderi has been the better performer. But in a first-time encounter of this magnitude, between two men who excel on this surface, I favor the experience of Ruud to prevail.
Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Daniil Medvedev (7) – Not Before 7:00pm on Campo Centrale
Through four matches in Rome, Sinner’s opposition has averaged just five games per match. Since March, the World No.1 is now 27-0 in matches, and 54-2 in sets. Sinner is currently on one of the most dominant streaks in ATP history, and there’s no indication of it stopping anytime soon.
Medvedev outlasted impressive newcomer Martin Landaluce in a long three-setter on Thursday evening, to achieve his first Masters semifinal on clay since he won this tournament three years ago. That’s also the last time he won a Masters 1000 title, despite being a six-time Masters champion. Daniil is 25-7 on the year, after reaching three hard court finals, and winning two of them.
Their head-to-head stands at 9-7 in Sinner’s slight favor. However, that’s a bit misleading, as after Medvedev claimed their first six meetings, Sinner has been in nearly full control of this rivalry. The Italian has now won nine of their last 10 matches, with the Russian’s only victory coming on grass. In their first matchup on clay, Medvedev’s least favorite surface, Sinner is a significant favorite to return to the championship match in Rome.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
