Nadal, Del Potro Open Play Wed. In Rome, Djokovic Returns On Court 3; Shapovalov Wins Thriller
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The top names take the court on a big day Wednesday in Rome. Seven-time champion Rafael Nadal opens play against Damir Dzhumur. Nadal comes in on a loss to Dominic Thiem last week in Madrid, but hopes to get back on track and back to No. 1 with a title this week.
Juan Martin del Potro will meet rising youngster Stefanos Tsisipas on Court 3. That match follows Novak Djokovic taking on qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili. Rare to see Djokovic on a third court at a Masters event!
Grigor Dimitrov also duels Kei Nishikori.
Earlier today in between the rain drops, the billed match of the day proved to be the match of the day as Denis Shapovalov shook off a poor opening set to battle past Tomas Berdych 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(5). The Canadian led 4-0 in the final breaker then held on for the big win.
Shapovalov is now set to overtake Milos Raonic as the Canadian No. 1 on Monday. Meanwhile, Berdych falls to 0-3 on the year on clay.
“I’m a little bit in shock,” Shapovalov said. “It’s definitely happened extremely quickly. I’ve worked hard to try to achieve this a long time in my career. It’s crazy that it’s come so early… It’s a reason to keep working, keep staying motivated and hopefully I can keep going.”
After a good start to the event, it was a tough day for Italian men who went 0-4 as Andreas Seppi, Lorenzo Sonego, Filippo Baldi and Marco Cecchinato all fell.
Philipp Kohlschreiber was also a winner ousting Jack Sock 6-4, 6-3.
As the rain returned, Marin Cilic and Ryan Harrison were deadlocked in a first set breaker.
In the women’s draw, French Open champions Jelena Ostapenko, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Maria Sharapova were all winners. Elina Svitolina also advanced.
Tomorrow, Venus Williams and Garbine Muguruza are in action and Sharapova collides with Dominika Cibulkova.
“It’s been a while since I played her, and she’s always been a very tough opponent for me to play in my career. We’ve always had very difficult matches,” Sharapova said.
“Especially on clay, she’s a grinder, she makes you hit a lot of balls. I’m certainly not afraid of that. I shouldn’t be…I should be ready and capable and make sure that I’m ready for that other ball. I’d like to see myself move forward a little bit more than I did today, not waiting for the ball to keep coming back and getting her back in the point.”
WEDNESDAY ROME SCHEDULE
CENTRALE Starts At 12:00 Pm
2nd Rd Fabio Fognini VS 6 Dominic Thiem
2nd Rd 1 Rafael Nadal VS Damir Dzumhur
2nd Rd Ryan Harrison VS 4 Marin Cilic TBF 6/6
2nd Rd Dominika Cibulkova VS Maria Sharapova
Not Before 7:30 Pm
2nd Rd (WC) Matteo Berrettini VS 2 Alexander Zverev
Not Before 9:00 Pm
2nd Rd 3 Garbiñe Muguruza VS Daria Gavrilova
NEXT GEN ARENA Starts At 11:00 Am
2nd Rd 9 Sloane Stephens VS (Q) Kaia Kanepi
2nd Rd 3 Grigor Dimitrov VS Kei Nishikori
Not Before 2:00 Pm
2nd Rd 8 Venus Williams VS Elena Vesnina
2nd Rd Robin Haase VS Denis Shapovalov
Not Before 7:00 Pm
2nd Rd 16 Lucas Pouille VS Kyle Edmund
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