A star-studded quarterfinal lineup is ready at the WTA Italian Open. Two-time champion Elina Svitolina is the only past winner left in the draw, and every player will feel confident to win the title. All four matches are great, but the potential match of the day is between two young stars, Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva. As always, we at LWOT will provide predictions for all the matches, but which players will advance to the semifinals?
WTA Rome Quarterfinal Predictions
Elina Svitolina vs Peyton Stearns
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Elina Svitolina put up a statement performance against Danielle Collins, who defeated Iga Swiatek in the third round. Svitolina defended brilliantly and attacked whenever opportunity presented. The Ukrainian is a two-time Italian Open champion, and if she maintains this level and lands more first serves in, she should be one of the favourites to win the entire thing. Peyton Stearns played a long match and won in the deciding set tiebreak against Naomi Osaka, showcasing her clutchness once again. Stearns is in her first WTA 1000 quarterfinals on clay. She has played two long matches back-to-back, which gives Svitolina the advantage.
Prediction: Svitolina in 2
Jasmine Paolini vs Diana Shnaider
Head-to-Head: Paolini 1-0 Shnaider
Jasmine Paolini is in her first quarterfinal in Rome and has played exceptionally well in all her matches. Paolini has a large number of points to defend in the upcoming weeks and months, and she is finding form at the right time. Diana Shnaider is also in her first quarterfinal and is yet to drop a set. However, this would be her biggest test as she has not defeated a top 10 player this season. Paolini, with the crowd backing her, would be super hard to beat, and I have her advancing to the semifinals.
Prediction: Paolini in 3
Coco Gauff vs Mirra Andreeva
Head-to-Head: Gauff 3-0 Andreeva
Coco Gauff easily defeated Emma Raducanu to progress to her third Italian Open quarterfinals. She has improved with each match and will need to play her best tennis to beat Mirra Andreeva again. Andreeva came back from a set down to defeat Clara Tauson in the fourth round. It was a dramatic match, and Andreeva did well to keep her cool. The Russian recently lost to Gauff in Madrid, with the opening set being important. Something tells me it will happen again, and whoever starts strong and wins the first set will win the match. I am edging towards Andreeva.
Prediction: Andreeva in 3
Aryna Sabalenka vs Qinwen Zheng
Head-to-Head: Sabalenka 6-0 Zheng
Qinwen Zheng has had a disappointing season by her standards, but she is rounding into form at the right time. She is in her third quarterfinal in a row at the Italian capital. However, she couldn’t have gotten a tougher quarterfinal matchup. Zheng has won just one set in six meetings against Aryna Sabalenka. Though this will be their first meeting on clay and Zheng will hope for a better outcome. Sabalenka continued her impressive run of form, defeating Marta Kostyuk in straight sets. She has a great shot at winning the title with Iga Swiatek eliminated, and Zheng doesn’t have the firepower to beat her on these slow courts.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
