Saturday features a blockbuster WTA singles final, as well as the ATP doubles semifinals.
In a rematch from the epic final in Madrid two weeks ago, World No.1 Iga Swiatek will face World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka for the women’s singles title in Rome. In Madrid, Swiatek saved multiple match points, eventually prevailing 9-7 in a third-set tiebreak. Can Sabalenka avenge that loss on Saturday?
Iga Swiatek (2) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Not Before 5:00pm on Center Court
This will be their 11th meeting, all of which have taken place within the past two-and-a-half years. Swiatek leads 7-3 overall, and 4-1 on clay. Sabalenka’s only victory on this surface came in the Madrid final a year ago.
Iga is now 37-4 on the year, and 13-1 on clay. She’s on an 11-match winning streak, claiming nine of those matches in straight sets, including all five of her wins this fortnight.
By contrast, six of Aryna’s 10 match wins between Madrid and Rome have been three-setters, even outlasting Elina Svitolina in a third-set tiebreak in the fourth round of Rome. But she has now defeated four consecutive seeded players (Yastremska, Svitolina, Ostapenko, Collins), with the last two wins coming in straight sets. So despite a back issue she’s been dealing with during this tournament, Sabalenka should be rather fresh for this final.
However, overcoming Swiatek on clay has become the WTA’s toughest task. Across the last five seasons, she is 69-7 on this surface, which is equivalent to a 92% winning percentage. If Sabalenka couldn’t complete the task in the altitude of Madrid, which favors her game, I don’t like her chances of doing so in Rome, especially with a nagging back issue. And considering Iga hasn’t lost a completed match in Rome since 2020, the World No.1 should be favored to win her third title at Foro Italico on Saturday.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic vs. Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori – Arevalo and Pavic are vying to reach the second final of their new partnership for 2024, and their first since the start of the year in Hong Kong. The Italian team of Bolelli and Vavassori already eliminated two top 10 seeds to advance to this semifinal, their fifth of the season.
Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos (1) vs. Alexander Bublik and Ben Shelton – Granollers and Zeballos have advanced to three finals this year, though they’ve lost all three. Shelton and Bublik are a new team who won three consecutive 10-point tiebreaks to reach this semifinal.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.
