by The Italian Open will crown a new champion for the first time in three years after reining champion Iga Swiatek retired following an injury against Elena Rybakina in the quarter-final. The Wimbledon Champion will face Jelena Ostapenko in the semi-final, while the other side of the draw pits Veronika Kudermetova against Anhelina Kalinina.
Jelena Ostapenko vs Elena Rybakina
Despite both being Grand Slam champions, Elena Rybakina and Jelena Ostapenko have never made it to the semi-final stage in Rome. The two have met three times, with Ostapenko leading the head-to-head 2-1. However, this will be the first time they meet on clay.
Considering Ostapenko is a former French Open champion, she will be the most comfortable on the surface. On the other hand, though the Latvian has plenty of raw talent her game is topsy-turvy. This contrasts Rybakina who is becoming synonymous with consistency in serve and groundstrokes. There is no doubt that Ostapenko has the ability to come out on top, however, as always it is difficult to predict which version of her will walk out on court.
Jelena Ostapenko dispatched Daria Kasatkina, French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova and Paula Badosa in route to the semi-final. The match against Krejcikova was particularly synonymous with Ostapenko’s touch-and-go style. The Latvian took the first set despite initially trailing 5-1, before blasting the 2021 French Open champion off the court in the second, losing just six points along the way. The quarter-final against Paula Badosa was a more consistent game from Ostapenko, outlasting the Spaniard over three sets.
On the other hand, Elena Rybakina’s tournament started in a strange manner, having gotten through three rounds via opponent retirement, most notably in her quarter-final against Iga Swiatek. The world number one was firing on all cylinders and broke Rybakina twice in the first set to open a 4-1 lead. Despite yielding the first set 6-2, Rybakina fought back to force a tie-break in the second, which she won to force a deciding set. Unfortunately, Swiatek sustained an injury during the tiebreak and made the call to retire at 2-2. It is a shame for the Polish star to have to yield the trophy in such circumstances, considering that it was shaping up to be an enthralling contest. It means that she will not get to lift the trophy for a third consecutive season. As the Italian Open sets the stage for the Roland Garros, the Pole has tempered worries in the tennis world of the seriousness of the injury. She currently plans on defending her title in Paris.
Both Ostapenko and Rybakina have not had a particularly spectacular clay season thus far. Ostapenko yielded to Liudmila Samsonova in the round of thirty-two in the Madrid Open and Ons Jabeur in the round of sixteen in Stuttgart. Meanwhile, Rybakina was forced off with an injury in Stuttgart and seemed to be still out of sorts in Madrid, losing to Anna Kalinskaya in the round of sixty-four in three sets. Having made it this far and finally kicked their clay season into gear, both will want to get over this hurdle for the chance to go into the Roland Garros with the trophy in hand.
Veronika Kudermetova vs Anhelina Kalinina
The other semi-final will pit Russian Veronika Kudermetova against Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina. The two did not start the calendar year on the front foot, but having jolted some momentum into this tournament, both are in with a good shout to lift the trophy. Like Ostapenko and Rybakina, neither of these two had ever made it past the second round in the tournament until this year, which will provide an extra incentive to book their place in the final.
Both have had to endure long matches to get to the semi-final. Veronika Kudermetova dispatched both Anatastasia Potapova and Qinwen Zheng in three sets. Meanwhile, Anhelina Kalinina battled Sofia Kenin, who had shocked Aryna Sabalenka in the second round. The Ukrainian then emerged victorious against Beatriz Haddad Maia in a match that lasted 3 hours and 41 minutes, the longest on the tour this year.
Previous encounters between the two have always been tight and thus it is also likely that this semi-final goes the distance. The two will be no strangers to long matches at this point but will likely want to reduce their time on the court to be as fresh as possible, should they get to the final. However, having won a match apiece in their previous two encounters, the two will know they are likely to be in for an even battle.
The semi-finals will be played on May 19th.
Photo by Paolo Bendandi on Unsplash
