In a jam-packed Friday at Foro Italico, all third round matches will be played.
On the men’s side, the heavy favorites are the two men who have combined to win this event 13 out of the last 15 years: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. While the women’s side feels much more wide open, the two most recent champions, Karolina Pliskova and Elina Svitolina, are two of the top three seeds remaining in the draw. But the slight favorite is a two-time Rome finalist, and recent champion in Prague: top-seeded Simona Halep.
Johanna Konta (7) vs. Garbine Mugruza (9)
This is the only third round singles match between two top 10 seeds. Muguruza advanced to this stage with noteworthy victories over Sloane Stephens and Coco Gauff. Konta had a bye in the first round, and dropped just four games yesterday to Irina-Camelia Begu. Konta’s serving prowess has been well-documented, which propelled her to the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open a few weeks ago. Historically a weak performer on clay, that changed dramatically for Konta last year. Jo reached the final both here and in Rabat, and the semifinals at Roland Garros. Still, her clay resume does not compare to that of the 2016 French Open champion. They’ve split four previous meetings, which have all been tight three-setters. There’s no evidence to support a lopsided affair today. But Konta has been the better player since the tour restart last month, and spent significantly less court time this week. If she continues to win a high percentage of first and second serve points today, that may apply more pressure than Muguruza can handle.
Grigor Dimitrov (15) vs. Jannik Sinner (WC)
Dimitrov looked stellar against an outmatched Yoshihito Nishioka on Tuesday, losing just one game and winning 96% of first serve points. His opponent today should provide much more resistance. Sinner is a fast-rising 19-year-old Italian who two days ago dismissed another ATP Next Gen champion, Stefanos Tsitsipas. Jannik displayed perseverance in doing so despite dropping the second set tiebreak 11-9. Dimitrov was a semifinalist here six years ago, but in more recent years has won as much as he’s lost on this surface. In an event where Italian men have shined, Sinner will be inspired by the play of his fellow countrymen. And the Italian’s firepower off both sides may be enough to secure himself another big win on home soil.
Other Notable Matches on Day 5:
Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Dusan Lajovic. The 30-year-old Serbian reached two clay finals last year, but the king of this surface he is not.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Filip Krajinovic. Filip has only managed to wrestle four total games away in four previous sets played against his countryman.
Simona Halep (1) vs. Dayana Yastremska. Halep has never lost a third round match in Rome. 20-year-old Yastremska is making her debut in the round of 16 of this event.
Defending champion Karolina Pliskova (2) vs. Anna Blinkova (Q). The 22-year-old Russian won 48 matches at all levels last year.
Two-time Rome champion Elina Svitolina (4) vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova, a two-time Major champion. Svitolina leads their head-to-head 3-1, though they’ve never met on clay.
Victoria Azarenka (SE) vs. Daria Kasatkina (Q). Azarenka steamrolled Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin yesterday 6-0, 6-0. Kasatkina was a top 10 player just two years ago, but is now ranked 74th in the world after going 13-21 last year.
Italy’s top-ranked player Matteo Berrettini (4) vs. Stefano Travaglia (WC), an Italian veteran who defeated Taylor Fritz and Borna Coric this week.
Italy’s newest star Lorenzo Musetti (Q) vs. Dominik Koepfer (Q). The 18-year-old Musetti has already upset Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori, while Koepfer has defeated Alex de Minaur and Gael Monfils.
Full order of play is here.
