Three of the four singles semifinalists at the WTA Finals have already been determined. Monday’s final round robin matchup between Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari will determine who joins Anett Kontaveit, Paula Badosa, and Garbine Muguruza in Tuesday’s semifinals.
On Monday in Turin, five-time champion Novak Djokovic will play his opening round robin match against ATP Finals debutante Casper Ruud, while Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev reignite what has been a competitive and dramatic rivalry.
Each day, this preview will analyze the most intriguing matchup for each event, while highlighting the other matches on the schedules. Monday’s play gets underway at 11:30am local time in Turin, and 2:00pm local time in Guadalajara.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) vs. Andrey Rublev (5) – Not Before 9:00pm in Turin
Tsitsipas narrowly leads their head-to-head 4-3 at tour level, but they’re tied 2-2 on hard courts. Their first meeting was three years ago in the semifinals of the ATP Next Gen Finals, which Stefanos won in five sets. Last year at this event, the Greek prevailed again in a final-set tiebreak. They split two meetings in 2021, though Andrey took the one contested on a hard court. Neither man arrives in Turin with much momentum. Rublev has lost four of his last five matches, and Tsitsipas three of his last four. Two weeks ago in Bercy, Stefanos retired after only six games due to a right arm injury. Considering Tsitsipas is less than 100%, and how these fast courts should reward the power of Rublev, I like the Russian to even this rivalry at 4-4.
Aryna Sabalenka (2) vs. Maria Sakkari (4) – 7:30pm in Guadalajara
Both of these women achieved their first two Major semifinals this season, but only one will reach their first semifinal at the WTA Finals. Sabalenka overcame some recent third-set demons on Saturday evening, thrilling the fans in Guadalajara with a come-from-behind victory 7-5 in the third. Sakkari played two tight sets against Paula Badosa, yet failed to win either. This will be their sixth hard court encounter since August of 2019. Sakkari claimed their first contest 6-4 in the third, but she hasn’t beaten Sabalenka since. Aryna is on a four-match winning streak against the Greek, with three of them decided in straights. Their recent history, as well as Sabalenka’s inspired effort on Saturday, make the Belarusian the favorite to win and advance.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Casper Ruud (8) – Djokovic is looking to win this event for the first time since 2015. Ruud has lost his last 10 sets against top 10 opposition. Last September at the Rome Masters, Djokovic defeated Ruud 7-5, 6-3.
Iga Swiatek (5) vs. Paula Badosa (7) – This is a dead rubber, as Swiatek has been eliminated from semifinal contention with a record of 0-2, while Badosa has already qualified with a 2-0 record. Their only previous meeting was at the Tokyo Olympics, where Badosa prevailed in straight sets.
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury (2) vs. Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares (7) – Ram and Salisbury won the US Open in September, defeating Murray and Soares in the championship match.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut (3) vs. Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah (5) – Herbert and Mahut won their fifth Major as a team in Paris, while Cabal and Farah won three 500-level titles this season.
Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova (1) vs. Alexa Guarachi and Desirae Krawczyk (6) – Krejcikova and Siniakova have qualified for the semifinals with a 2-0 record. Guarachi and Krawczyk need to win to qualify, and also need Fichman and Olmos to defeat Hsieh and Mertens.
Su-Wei Hsieh and Elise Mertens (3) vs. Sharon Fichman and Giuliana Olmos (8) – Hsieh and Mertens will advance with a win, or with a three-set loss if Krejcikova and Siniakova win. Fichman and Olmos can only advance if they win in straight sets and Krejickova and Siniakova win.
Monday’s full Order of Play in Turin is here, and for Guadalajara is here.
