The first semifinal at the WTA Italian Open in Rome pits 11th seed Veronika Kudermetova up against 30th seed Anhelina Kalinina in a potentially tempestuous affair. Russia’s Kudermetova is looking to go one better than her recent semifinal showing in Madrid, while Ukraine’s Kalinina is appearing in a WTA 1000 semifinal for the first time. Who will advance into their first final at this level?
WTA Rome Semifinal Prediction
Anhelina Kalinina vs Veronika Kudermetova
Head-to-head: Kalinina 1-1 Kudermetova
When the dust settled on Tuesday night, Anhelina Kalinina won the longest WTA match of the season, beating Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-7 7-6 6-3 to reach her first semifinal at this level. She came back from 3-0 down in the third set and extends her perfect record against Haddad Maia to 4-0. With four wins this fortnight, Kalinina has won more matches than the last two months combined.
Veronika Kudermetova, meanwhile, is into her second successive semifinal at WTA 1000 level, masterminding her own comeback win over China’s rising star Qinwen Zheng. Having lost to Zheng in Tokyo last autumn, Kudermetova varnished her first serve to wrestle the win on Tuesday, tallying 11 aces (first match this fortnight she hit double-digit aces) and converting four of her seven break points.
Kalinina struggled with the conditions in the slightly peculiar clay of Charleston and Madrid. But the natural bounce in Rome has done wonders in finding her rhythm on the European clay. After a near four-hour ordeal, Kalinina is going to have to do it all over again on Friday. She had four retirements last year (including two walkovers), so her rollercoaster win over Haddad Maia might turn out to be pyrrhic even with a day’s rest. Kudermetova is serving with supreme efficiency and she has a point-ending shot that will keep this match beyond Kalinina’s reach.
Prediction: Kudermetova in 3
Main Photo Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
