The Rome blitz is drawing to a close, with Sinner, Darderi, Ruud and Medvedev all chasing a place in Sunday’s final today. Rome has delivered unpredictability throughout - in weather as much as performance - with a local hero emerging, Sabalenka falling early, and a women’s draw that could yet see Coco Gauff or Elina Svitolina reconnect with their finest tennis. Here, we unravel the week’s defining performances and set the stage for a weekend of Roman delight.
Many expected Alexander Zverev to emerge once again as Jannik Sinner’s main challenger in Rome. Few imagined the tournament would instead ignite the run of a home outsider. Logic suggested that role belonged to Lorenzo Musetti, Italy’s world No.10 and one of the tour’s most elegant clay-court players. Yet Musetti fell to Casper Ruud in the round of 16 before later withdrawing from Hamburg and Roland Garros through injury.
The player who truly absorbed Rome’s energy was Luciano Darderi. Argentine-born, Italian by descent and now fully embraced by the Foro Italico, Darderi arrived as the tournament’s 18th seed but has produced the finest Masters 1000 run of his career. He first overturned Tommy Paul after dropping the opening set (3-6, 6-3, 6-2), before delivering the defining victory of his week against Zverev. Thrashed in the first set, Darderi refused to disappear. He edged a tense second-set tie-break, saved four match points and then dismantled the German 6-0 in the decider. “I won because of the crowd. You can’t give up here,” he admitted after the match.
His quarter-final against Rafael Jódar carried the same emotional intensity. Play was interrupted not by rain, but by smoke drifting across from the Coppa Italia final at the Stadio Olimpico nearby. Darderi claimed the opening set in a tie-break before Jódar responded 7–5 in the second. Yet the final set exposed the difference between youthful resistance and seasoned momentum. Cramp slowed Jódar; Darderi surged. Another 6-0 set sealed his place in the semi-finals.
Rome has revealed a version of Darderi never before seen at Masters 1000 level - more composed, more aggressive, and lifted by a crowd that has turned him into the tournament’s emotional pulse behind Sinner. Today, “Luli” faces Ruud for a place in the biggest final of his career. As he admitted after defeating Zverev: “It is the tournament of my life.”
On the other side of the draw, it no longer feels like players are trying to corner Jannik Sinner - the Italian world No.1 seems focused instead on chasing tennis history itself. While his route in Rome has not featured many top-20 opponents, Sinner brushed past Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals and faces Daniil Medvedev this evening at the Foro Italico.
The story, however, continues to unfold the same way it has throughout his last 32 Masters 1000 matches: Sinner keeps winning. Against Rublev, he surpassed Novak Djokovic’s record for consecutive victories at this level (capped at 31), another statement from a player whose rise increasingly invites comparisons with the sport’s greatest eras. Without an in-form Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner’s grip on the tour currently feels untouchable.
The women’s world No.1 suffered a shock early exit in Rome, falling in the third round to Sorana Cîrstea, the 36-year-old Romanian currently playing the final season of her career. For Aryna Sabalenka, it marked her earliest tournament exit in 15 months and followed the surprise defeat to Hailey Baptiste in Madrid. Sabalenka pointed to a lower-back issue that limited her rotation, but with Roland Garros beginning on 24 May, concern now surrounds the Belarusian’s condition - and momentum.
Sabalenka’s departure also opened the path for Coco Gauff, who has battled through Rome rather than cruised through it. Against Solana Sierra, Iva Jovic and Mirra Andreeva, Gauff dropped the opening set each time before responding. Comebacks have defined her tournament. She carried that resilience into the semi-finals against Cîrstea - the opponent many expected Sabalenka to win - and this time advanced with greater control, winning 6-4, 6-3. Gauff’s level in Rome is building at the right moment, and a title this weekend could firmly establish her as one of the leading contenders for Roland Garros.
Iga Swiatek’s start to the tournament was blazing. She dismantled Naomi Osaka 6–2, 6–1 in the round of 16 before brushing past Jessica Pegula 6–1, 6–2, raising eyebrows across the tennis world. The dominant Swiatek seemed back, smiling again and dictating rallies with the authority that once defined the tour.
Yet her semi-final against Elina Svitolina brought the doubts rushing back. Swiatek struggled to contain Svitolina’s cross-court forehands and gradually lost control of the match. In the third set, the timing disappeared, the overhitting returned, and the composure faded in a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 defeat. Questions around Swiatek’s mentality at the sport’s biggest stages are beginning to grow louder.
For Svitolina, Rome has become a statement. A day earlier, she had already battled past Elena Rybakina from a set down, recovering from 2-6 to win 6-4, 6-4. Against Swiatek, she looked composed throughout, breaking the Pole repeatedly and absorbing pressure with calm authority. Eight years after her last Rome final, the Ukrainian now stands one win away from another title.
Her meeting with Coco Gauff promises one of the clay season’s standout finals. They have faced each other five times, with Svitolina leading the head-to-head 3-2. This week, the Ukrainian has looked close to her best level: resilient, composed and difficult to break down. She comes in with a slight advatange over Gauff.
The Rome Open WTA finals run on Saturday, May 16th at 10am EST. The ATP finals will run on Sunday, May 17th.
