2024 Rome Open Wednesday SCHEDULE and PREVIEW featuring OSAKA, SHAPOVALOV, KENIN AND MONFILS

The schedule for Wednesday, May 8th of the Rome Open, an ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tournament, has been revealed. The day will be led by former Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka and Sofia Kenin, both with matches on the central court of the Foro Italico. Additionally, the men's matches include Denis Shapovalov and Gael Monfils.

The first round of the tournament is nearing completion in both the men's and women's draws, still awaiting the debut of the top 32 seeds in the next phase. However, prominent players will be in action.

The day kicks off on Center Court with Shapovalov facing local player Luciano Darderi. The Canadian has fond memories in Rome, reaching the semifinals in 2020 and securing an epic victory over the 10-time champion Rafael Nadal in 2022.

Later, former world No. 1 Osaka takes on Clara Burel. The Japanese player has never quite replicated her hardcourt level when playing on clay. A week ago, she achieved her first clay-court victory of the season at the Madrid Open. Osaka has not won more than two matches on clay since 2019, with her best result being the quarterfinals of Rome in that same year.

Other key matchups on Center Court include Sofia Kenin against Italian player Lucia Bronzetti, followed by Daniel Evans versus wild card entry Fabio Fognini. Finally, former French Open finalist Sara Errani faces Amanda Anisimova, a quarterfinalist in her last appearance in 2022.

Frenchman Gael Monfils will take on Brazilian Thiago Monteiro, who leads the head-to-head matchup 2-1. Just before Monfils, talented French player Diane Parry faces Russian Anna Blinkova, who comes into the match with a streak of five consecutive losses, starting precisely after losing to Parry in Indian Wells.

Former world No. 8 Diego Schwartzman, who announced his retirement at the end of the season a few days ago, will face Alexander Vukic. The Argentine was a finalist in 2020 but fell to Novak Djokovic in straight sets.

Czech sensation Linda Fruhvirtova faces veteran Tatjana Maria, and later, her 16-year-old sister Brenda Fruhvirtova takes on Taylor Townsend. The day will also feature Alex Michelsen against Pavel Kotov, Christopher Eubanks versus Terence Atmane, and Zhizhen Zhang against Daniel Elahí Galan, among others.