By Tony Fairbairn
- Iga Swiatek [1] v Madison Keys [18]
- Stefanos Tsitsipas [6] v Alex De Minaur [9]
- Coco Gauff [3] v Qinwen Zheng [7]
ROME, ITALY – Iga Swiatek will face Madison Keys in a rematch from their match in Madrid last week as a place in the semi-finals of Rome is on the line.
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Iga Swiatek [1] v Madison Keys [18] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Iga Swiatek [1] v Madison Keys [18] | H2H: Swiatek leads 3-1 |
| Rome 2024 | Rome, Italy |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €99,160 |
| Second on Center Court (Not before 12:00 BST) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
Iga Swiatek is into her fourth consecutive Rome quarter-final after denying Angelique Kerber in the last 16. The world number one is bidding for her third Rome title and couldn’t be in a more perfect position to achieve the feat after winning the Madrid title last week. A mixture of aggression and variety sees Swiatek have a complete all-court game as she will aim to enter Roland Garros as the clear favourite. Now the Pole will look to enter the second Grand Slam of the season as the title holder of the three biggest clay court events in the world.
Next up for Swiatek is a rematch from last week’s semi-final in Madrid against Madison Keys. The American has hit top form over the past few weeks having beaten the likes of Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur and Beatriz Haddad Maia. Clay allows Keys to have the time and space to hit her big forehand and analyse her opponents strengths and weaknesses with the 18th seed a former finalist in Rome. The next step for Keys is a big win over the best player in the world in what would be a big momentum boost ahead of Roland Garros.
Swiatek will aim to serve consistently well as she will use spin and pace to force errors from Keys’ game. Meanwhile the American will use the forehand to make Swiatek around the court as she will look to finish points off at the net. This will be a good test for Swiatek but once again the world number one should prevail comfortably.
Prediction: Swiatek in straight sets.
Stefanos Tsitsipas [6] v Alex De Minaur [9] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Stefanos Tsitsipas [6] v Alex De Minaur [9] | H2H: Tsitsipas leads 10-1 |
| Rome 2024 | Rome, Italy |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €88,440 |
| Fourth on Center Court (Not before 18:00 BST) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
A comfortable performance from Stefanos Tsitsipas as he reached the last 16 by fending off a second set comeback from Cameron Norrie. The sixth seed is aiming to take advantage of injuries and uncertainty in the men’s game as there are a lot of players who will feel they have a really good chance at Roland Garros. There may not be a better opportunity for Tsitsipas to win a Grand Slam then at Roland Garros. Now Tsitsipas aims to take of Novak Djokovic’s exit from the draw as he aims for a first title in Rome.
Next for Tsitsipas is Alex De Minaur with the Australian earning a very good win over Madrid finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime. The world number eleven is not known for his clay court prowess but this isn’t a normal year for De Minaur who has elevated his game to new heights. The Australian will now look to add a Masters 1000 quarter-final to his impressive season and earn momentum ahead of Roland Garros.
Tsitsipas will aim to use angles to force De Minaur out of position as he aims to use spin to pin De Minaur behind the baseline. Meanwhile De Minaur will need to be aggressive on serve as he will use the forehand to extract unforced errors from the Greek. This will be a good test to see where Tsitsipas’ game is at but the sixth seed should have too much quality for De Minaur.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in three sets.
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Coco Gauff [3] v Qinwen Zheng [7] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Coco Gauff [3] v Qinwen Zheng [7] | H2H: First Meeting |
| Rome 2024 | Rome, Italy |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €99,160 |
| Fifth on Center Court (Not before 19:30 BST) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
Coco Gauff managed to stop Paula Badosa’s recent resurgence in order to reach the quarter-finals in Rome. It was a hard-fought win for Gauff but the American won’t care too much considering the third seed’s lack of form in recent tournaments. Another win for the American would be a big boost as she aims to put pressure on the big three at the top of the women’s game.
Next up for Gauff is Australian Open finalist Qinwen Zheng who has secured a much-needed big result this week. The seventh seed stopped Naomi Osaka’s recent run of form with Zheng producing her best result this week since the Australian Open. The effect of reaching a Grand Slam final has provided expectation for Zheng to do well and that has had a negative consequence on Zheng’s game as she looks to rebuild her form over the clay court season.
Gauff will need to be aggressive on serve as she uses a mixture of pace and depth in order to force errors from Zheng’s game. Zheng will use angles on return in order to put pressure on Gauff early in the rally with the seventh seed aiming to open up the court as much as possible. Gauff’s recent confident form makes her slight favourite although a free-hitting Zheng with nothing to lose is a dangerous opponent to face at this stage in the tournament.
Prediction: Gauff in three sets.
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