2024 Rome Open Wednesday Schedule and Preview featuring Sabalenka, Collins and Zverev – Fritz

The schedule for Wednesday, May 15th of the Rome Open has been revealed, with the first quarter-final matchups in the ATP draw and the last two semi-finalists being decided in the WTA draw.

Our preview looks ahead to some of the top ties and leading storylines ahead of Day Nine at the Rome Open and which matches to look out for.

Without major surprises on the women's side, high-intensity duels are expected at Foro Italico. The day on Center Court will open with world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka facing Jelena Ostapenko (No. 10) in a clash between two of the most powerful players on the Tour, with a current head-to-head record of 2-0 in favor of the Belarusian.

Sabalenka hasn't had an easy path but managed to survive until the fourth round after an epic match against the Ukranian Elina Svitolina (No. 19), which was decided by details in favor of Sabalenka with a score of 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(7). The world No. 2 seeks to reach the WTA 1000 semi-finals for the 13th time in her career but will first have to overcome the former French Open champion.

The second women's duel will be between No. 15 Danielle Collins and former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka (No. 24). The American has 18 wins in her last 19 matches and comes off a dominant performance against Irina Begu with a score of 6-0, 6-3 in just 67 minutes. Collins seems almost invincible, but Vichka also comes in great form after an easy win over Maria Sakkari (No. 8) with a score of 6-4, 6-1.

On the men's side, the 29th seed Alejandro Tabilo reached his first Masters 1000 quarter-finals after a great performance against Karen Khachanov (No. 18). The Chilean silenced the Foro Italico two days ago by surprising world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, and against Khachanov (No. 18), he again played at a superb level to continue the winning streak in Rome.

His opponent will be another surprise: Chinese Zhizhen Zhang (No. 56). The 27-year-old player eliminated opponents like Adrian Mannarino (No. 21) and Ben Shelton (No. 14), besides defeating Thiago Monteiro (No. 106) in the previous round and still hasn't dropped a set.

The second men's match and the one to close the day is Fritz against Zverev. With the absences of Sinner and Alcaraz, in addition to Djokovic's defeat, both have a great opportunity to do something important in the Rome Open and appear as strong contenders for the title.

The American No. 1 overcame a resilient Grigor Dimitrov (No. 9) by 6-2, 6-7(11), 6-1 and returns to the quarter-finals of a Masters 1000 on clay, two weeks after his appearance in the Madrid Open semi-finals. On Zverev's side, he wasn't having a great campaign in the clay swing, although he seems to have found his tennis again in Rome, a tournament he already won in 2017.