Rome Crisis Center, Day 5

Hi everyone. Here's today's post for discussing and match-calling the ongoing tennis action in Rome - or for this week's WTA tournaments. The Rome Order of Play is here. As is always the case with Crisis Centers,please could you keep your discussions focused on the tennis until the day's matches are over. After that it's OK to drift off-topic.

All of today's matches are being played on Stadio Pietrangeli. On the other courts doubles will be going on, as well as the first of the qualifying matches for the WTA tournament that begins next week.

First up Novak Djokovic plays Juan Martin Del Potro. Djokovic is 2-0 in their head-to-head, and even though both previous matches were on hard courts I see no reason to pick against him today. His semifinal opponent will be decided next, when Mischa Zverev takes on Roger Federer. The Russian-born German and the Swiss have never faced each other before. Zverev deserves plaudits for his efforts so far this week. The world number 76 has beaten Tomas Berdych,  Paul-Henri Mathieu (David Ferrer's conqueror) and Gilles Simon this week, the first two over three sets. I still think it's likely that we'll be seeing a Djokovic-Federer semifinal in the lower half of the draw.

In the top half Rafael Nadal takes on Fernando Verdasco late in the afternoon. The head-to-head is 7-0 to Nadal, though he was surely stretched to the limit in their Australian Open semifinal earlier this year. Their meeting at Roland Garros in 2008 was a lot less close - Nadal won 6-1, 6-0, 6-2, though to be fair, Verdasco was playing through an obvious injury.  The evening match involves Fernando Gonzalez and Juan Monaco. Gonzalez has won all of their matches to date in straight sets, including three on clay, two of which occurred earlier this year. I expect a Nadal-Gonzalez semifinal.

As always, enjoy today's tennis.

- Rosangel Valenti

PS. Master Ace has provided the following timecheck information for those of you watching the WTA today (all times TW time or US Eastern Standard Time):

Stuttgart
Marion Bartoli vs Elena Dementieva at 8 AM
Svetlana Kuznetsova vs Gisela Dulko
Jelena Jankovic vs Flavia Pennetta at 12:15 PM
Dinara Safina vs Agnieszka Radwanska
 
 Fes
Ekaterina Makarova vs Alisa Kleybanova at 9 AM
Anabel Medina Garrigues vs Melinda Czink

[Note: as of 11.45 a.m. EST, we are moving comments to an Overflow post. See the link in blue below. RV.

Further note: as of 3.05 p.m. EST, we have opened a second Overflow - see link below. RV.]

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