Author: Barkha Roy
Stefanos Tsitsipas won a dominant 6-3, 6-4 victory over Borna Coric on Thursday night at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. This impressive victory sets the stage for a thrilling semi-final clash between Tsitsipas and the tournament’s third seed, Daniil Medvedev.
Tsitsipas showed a formidable combination of power and creativity during the match, effectively varying the spin of his shots and using his drop shot to great effect. Coric’s missed defensive backhand, which resulted in a long shot, allowed Tsitsipas to serve for the first set, which he did.
Although Tsitsipas initially appeared to be in complete control after executing a forehand smash to break in the second set, he subsequently surrendered his advantage in the following game. However, Tsitsipas remained calm and composed, not letting Coric’s previous setbacks affect his mentality. He got his third break of serve of the match and then served successfully to secure his place in the semi-finals.
In the women’s singles, Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina reached her third WTA 1000 final this season, beating 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4 in the semi-finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. In a remarkable comeback, Rybakina managed to overcome a 4-1 deficit in the second set to secure victory in a match that lasted 1 hour and 33 minutes. In the next final on Saturday night, Rybakina will face Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina.
30th-ranked Anhelina Kalinina advanced to her first WTA 1000 final by beating Veronika Kudermetova 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 at the Rome Masters on Friday. The match lasted 2 hours and 51 minutes.
In the men’s doubles, Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski reached a significant milestone by reaching their first ATP Masters 1000 final as a doubles team. They booked their place in the final by beating Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 7-5 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Nys and Zielinski have shown remarkable consistency in Rome, having yet to lose a set in their matches. Their success also includes a win against the third-ranked duo of Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek. Now they’re ready to compete against Robin Haase and Botic van de Zandschulp for their first title of the season.