Rome boasts a monster quarterfinal lineup on Friday, headlined by top seed Novak Djokovic facing Stefanos Tsitsipas. Second seed Rafael Nadal is taking on his recent Madrid vanquisher, Alexander Zverev.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (5) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Last fall Stefanos Tsitsipas clawed his way back from a two-set deficit at the French Open to push Novak Djokovic to five sets. The Serb won that match in the end, but Tsitsipas proved that he has plenty of fight and determination. The Greek is playing better tennis now than he was then, making their quarterfinal match on Friday all the more tantalizing.
Djokovic’s matches this week have been fairly routine, but the difficulty level is about to make some considerable jumps. Tsitsipas won the Monte-Carlo Masters and he made the final in Barcelona. His clay-court season thus far is the best on tour. The Serb may also have less motivation than he had in the past. Recently, he said “Now, after achieving the historic No. 1 ranking for the longest weeks at number one, it’s going to be a relief for me because I’m going to focus all my attention on Slams, mostly.”
He’ll still need match play, but he’ll perhaps be less willing to leave it all on the court outside the majors. With the way Tsitsipas has been playing and moving, this one has all the makings of an upset.
Cheryl pick: Tsitsipas in 3
Ricky pick: Tsitsipas in 3
(2) Rafael Nadal vs. (6) Alexander Zverev
Things have become more complicated for Nadal on the dirt than they usually are. The Spaniard, who normally skates through the early stages of a tournament, has been pushed mightily in Rome. It’s true that his draw wasn’t favorable, with Jannik Sinner and Denis Shapovalov as his first two opponents–but he’s been on court for more than five hours so far. His form against Sinner was good, but he struggled on serve against Shapovalov and had to pull out the win after being down two match points in the third set.
Alexander Zverev just posted his first clay court-win over Nadal last week in Madrid. The two men met in the quarters there, as well. While the altitude in Madrid tends to favor bigger servers like Zverev, it is still a clay-court tournament and defeating Nadal on this surface under any circumstances is still a notable accomplishment.
Zverev didn’t look particularly strong in his three-set win over Kei Nishikori. Midway through the second set, the German was down a set and a break. He managed to find his way to the win, but he looked off-kilter for much of the match.
With a more traditional clay court, Nadal is still the favorite to advance–but the second seed will have to make more first serves than he has been all week. Zverev isn’t as likely to let off the hook the way Shapovalov did in the round of 16.
Cheryl pick: Nadal in 3
Ricky pick: Nadal in 2
Novak got an easy sonego in SF..that semi nay finish in an hour 🙂
Not so fast, Sanju 😉 Did you hear the screams for Sonego at the end of his match v poor Rublev? I won’t watch Novak v Sonego because Novak might go nuts with that. A lot depends on how well Novak keeps his temper and doesn’t allow the crowd to get into it. Winning in 2 would help. It won’t be easy.
But even Novak has to be tired after that match and playing a young gun in a few hours cannot be a prospect he is looking forward to
Sonego too played a 3 setter..it’s not as if he’s fresh n he had a very long one against thiem
But Sonego had a day off yesterday due to the rain; that should help after the match with Thiem.
Beating Tsitsipas was a huge task for Novak. Certainly, the win gave him a lift, but he sacrificed more to win.
Sonego in the Rome final! It’s a dream come true for him and his many Italian fans cheering him on. Novak will be tired and perhaps won’t have the recovery time needed. I’m not sure how Novak will feel. I could see him losing.
well, don’t forget Sonego leads in their head to head records beating Novak in Vienna 2020.. 🙂 not that it is an indication of anything on clay, but it will certainly give Sonego some confidence heading into this match…I still think Novak is the beast and will beat the younger fellow…
😊 How well I know Nats! Whatever happens, is my present mindset. If Novak can’t put Sonego away in two sets, I say go on Sonego. Oh yes, Sonego is brimming with confidence already, I reckon.
Rafa better take care of Opelka in two sets!
🙈 Imagine an Opelka v Sonego Final.
Yes that is all i needed to see.. Rafa getting bullied by opelka
If rafa cant hold comfortably, we are in for a rough evening
Is anyone pencilling this guy to make a deep rum at wimbledon?
15-30 situations have to end with a break against this guy
But the way opelka is blasting returns the break does not seem safe
I honestly cannot believe that the tennis channel is showing Coco Gauff over Rafa! Go to tennis channel plus! No way!
So I have to watch the score.
This is a disgrace.
Crucial game now.. with new balls opelkas first strike may work wonders again.. wanted the second break so bad in the seventh game
Rafa has not been great at taking advantage of break opportunities.
Watching the score Rafa has won the first set! Do it in two!
I’m stubbornly too frugal to buy TC Plus. I may end up getting it for RG and Wimbledon. Anyway, I only have a score to follow for Rafa’s match. I do like watching Swiatek v Gauff.
Breaaaaaak! Come on.. no more hiccups Rafa
Hope this guy gets seeded at rg.. last thing needed is a first rounder with him
A very nice young man, Opelka.
Omg, what a frightful sight across the net!
Now they are showing Rafa. Finally!
Rsfa up a break. Not having seen most of the match, I can’t speak to Rafa’s form. As long as he gets the job done.
NNY,
He will serve for the match after the commercial. And I think Rafa can do it!
Okay Rafa! Serve this out! No messing around!
Geez Louise! Two missed shots!
Come on Rafa!
Yes! Rafa does it! In the final!
Woh emm gee.. another rome final… could be against the only guy who has defeated him in a final here
Rafa doesn’t seem to care about that, he’s happy to be in the final 😀and I’m happy to see that!
Gosh Rafa has a 92% success rate on clay followed by Borg at 86, Novak is fourth at 80%
I think Rafa has only lost 3 finals in all these tournaments. RG-0, Barcelona-0, MonteCarlo-1, Rome-2. Quite surprisingly all these losses have come against Djoker only. This is a ridiculous stat.
Rafa has only lost 8 clay finals..
2 – federer
4-djoko
1-zeballos
1-andy murray
3 of those 8 in madrid -worst condition for him