Rome Women's Semifinal Previews: Kudermetova vs. Kalinina; Rybakina vs. Ostapenko

Rome Highlights: Ostapenko defeats Badosa in QFs

Veronika Kudermetova vs. Anhelina Kalinina

The day-session fans at the Foro Italico on Friday may need to consult their programs to find out a little more about who they’ve come to watch. Kudermetova and Kalinina, the 11th and 30th seeds, respectively, weren’t supposed to be on this bill when the tournament began.

Each has worked hard to get here. Kudermetova, who was also a semifinalist in Madrid three weeks ago, came back from a set down to edge Zheng Qinwen 6-4 in the third, in the quarterfinals, while Kalinina did the same to Beatriz Haddad Maia, 6-3 in the third, in a hard-fought night match. Kudermetova has to be the favorite; she’s ranked 35 spots higher (12 to 47) and has won eight of her last nine matches—the only defeat coming to Iga Swiatek. But the Russian and the Ukrainian are 1-1 in their head-to-head, and each match has gone three sets. The fans on Friday may not have expected to see Kudermetova and Kalinina this late in the event, but there’s a good chance they’ll see a competitive match from them. Winner: Kudermetova

Elena Rybakina vs. Jelena Ostapenko

The second of Friday’s women’s semifinals is the higher-profile of the two. Rybakina is a Wimbledon champion; Ostapenko is a French Open champion. Rybakina is No. 6 in the world; Ostapenko is No. 20. And while Rybakina has had the better last 12 months, Ostapenko’s disputes with electronic line-calling systems around the world have kept her in the headlines.

They’ve played three times, though never on clay. Ostapenko has won twice, while Rybakina won most recently, in two sets, at the Australian Open. Even on dirt, the rallies will likely be of the blink-and-you-missed-them variety. Both women like to attack at the first possible opportunity, and neither enjoys spending much, or any, time defending. Each has a different surefire way of winning points: Rybakina with her serve, Ostapenko with her swing-now-and-ask-questions-later ground strokes. There will likely be some ups and some downs, but I’ll take the higher-ranked player to come out on top. Winner: Rybakina