The second semifinal at the WTA Italian Open in Rome will be a rematch of a fourth-round match from Madrid. Second seed Aryna Sabalenka will look to secure her place in back-to-back WTA 1000 finals when she confronts the unstoppable Danielle Collins. Who will reach the Rome final?
WTA Rome Semifinal Prediction
Aryna Sabalenka vs Danielle Collins
Head-to-head: Sabalenka 5-0 Collins
Sabalenka ensured the top three women in the rankings will headline a semifinal at the WTA tour level for the first time since the 2013 French Open (excluding WTA Finals). She’s beaten her power-hitting adversaries one by one on her way to a second semifinal at the Italian Open. First, it was Katie Volynets. Then, it was the Ukrainian duo of Dayana Yastremska and Elina Svitolina before upending Jelena Ostapenko in a clash of the heavyweights. She has dropped a set on two occasions. One was in her opening match against American Volynets, and the other was in that late-night thriller against Svitolina, where she saved three match points. It will be another relentless hard hitter waiting in the last four and a woman she beat just two weeks ago in Madrid.
Danielle Collins has quickly got back into winning ways in Rome. She has not lost a set en route to another semifinal. She took care of Victoria Azarenka in Wednesday’s quarterfinal to make it 19 wins from her last 20 matches. The only player who put a stain on Collins’ near-perfect run then was the second seed Sabalenka.
The Belarusian has quelled fears of a recurrence of the back and hip injuries she sustained in her epic win over Svitolina by playing her best match of the tournament in the quarterfinal. This is not a rivalry for the ages, considering Sabalenka’s jaw-dropping 5-0 advantage in the head-to-head. However, it can be a match of the season contender because both women can turn up the temperature and play with a far greater margin. With that said, the in-form Collins will take some stopping on her current form, and there is a sense of destiny in her farewell tour.
Prediction: Collins in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
