Rome 2020: Friday's Order of Play and Match Points

ORDER OF PLAY

CENTRALE -- 11:00 a.m. start
Following 1 men's match, not before 1:00 p.m.
[1] Simona HALEP (ROU) vs. Dayana YASTREMSKA (UKR)
Following 2 men's matches
Polona HERCOG (SLO) vs. [12] Marketa VONDROUSOVA (CZE)

PIETRANGELI -- 11:00 a.m. start
[Q] Anna BLINKOVA (RUS) vs. [2] Karolina PLISKOVA (CZE)
Following 1 men's match
[9] Garbiñe MUGURUZA (ESP) vs. [7] Johanna KONTA (GBR)
Following 1 men's match, not before 7:00 p.m.
Svetlana KUZNETSOVA (RUS) vs. [4] Elina SVITOLINA (UKR)

GRAND STAND ARENA -- 11:00 a.m. start
Following 2 men's matches
Victoria AZARENKA (BLR) vs. [Q] Daria KASATKINA (RUS)

COURT 1 -- 11:00 a.m. start
[Q] Danka KOVINIC (MNE) vs. [11] Elise MERTENS (BEL)
[10] Elena RYBAKINA (KAZ) vs. Yulia PUTINTSEVA (KAZ)
[1] HSIEH Su-Wei (TPE) / Barbora STRYCOVA (CZE) vs. [6] Veronika KUDERMETOVA (RUS) / Katerina SINIAKOVA (CZE)
Lucie HRADECKA (CZE) / Andreja KLEPAC (SLO) vs. Hayley CARTER (USA) / Luisa STEFANI (BRA)

COURT 4 -- 12:00 p.m. start
[7] Shuko AOYAMA (JPN) / Ena SHIBAHARA (JPN) vs. Asia MUHAMMAD (USA) / Arina RODIONOVA (AUS)
Anna-Lena FRIEDSAM (GER) / Raluca OLARU (ROU) vs. Magda LINETTE (POL) / Bernarda PERA (USA)

MATCH POINTS

Simona Halep and Dayana Yastremska will meet for the first time as the round of 16 takes place at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Friday. Halep is making her ninth main draw appearance at Rome (her 10th appearance overall) and has twice been a finalist, in 2017 and 2018 (lost to Elina Svitolina in both finals).

World No.2 Halep is currently on a 10-match winning streak, which includes a pre-hiatus title run at Dubai and a post-hiatus title run in Prague. The two-time Grand Slam champion (2018 Roland Garros and 2019 Wimbledon) owns the third-most clay-court WTA titles among active players with 8, behind only Serena Williams (13) and Venus Williams (9).

Yastremska is eyeing her third career win over a Top 5 ranked player (2-3 overall against Top 5 opposition). Her Top 5 victories came against then-No.2 Karolina Pliskova (2019 Wuhan) and No.5 Sofia Kenin (2020 Doha). In the last round, Yastremska rallied from a set down to dispatch Amanda Anisimova in a two-hour battle.

Defending champion and No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova will face qualifier Anna Blinkova on Friday. Pliskova won their only previous meeting at the 2017 Australian Open, 6-0, 6-2. World No.4 Pliskova is bidding to win back-to-back matches for the first time since this year’s Australian Open.

Blinkova is attempting to reach the biggest quarterfinal of her career, and her first WTA quarterfinal on clay. She is seeking her first-ever win over a Top 5 player, in her third match against that level of opposition. Blinkova has one Top 10 win, which came when she upset then-No.8 Belinda Bencic at Shenzhen earlier this season.

Two-time Rome champion Elina Svitolina (2017-2018) will face two-time Rome finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova (2007, 2009) in the last 16. Svitolina has won three of their four previous meetings, including their last encounter, coming at Wuhan last year. Svitolina owns four WTA clay-court singles titles (2015 Marrakech, 2017 Istanbul, 2017-2018 Rome).

Former World No.2 Kuznetsova, a two-time Grand Slam champion (2004 US Open and 2009 Roland Garros) has won her 199th and 200th career three-set matches en route to the round of 16 this week. She seeks her second Top 10 win of the season (also then-No.9 Belinda Bencic at Doha) and the 63rd Top 10 win of her career.

Garbiñe Muguruza and Johanna Konta will square off in a battle between Top 10 seeds. Konta and Muguruza have split their four previous meetings, with Muguruza coming out on top in their last encounter, a tough three-set tussle at the 2019 Australian Open.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Muguruza (2016 Roland Garros and 2017 Wimbledon) has twice reached the Rome semifinals, in 2016 and 2017. The former World No.1 is two matches away from her 400th career main draw match (255-142 career record).

2019 Rome finalist Konta has reached the round of 16 or better in all five of her main-draw showings in Rome. The Brit will face her first Top 20-ranked opponent of the season in her 16th WTA match of the year.

Former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka and former Top 10 player Daria Kasatkina will meet for the third time, with Azarenka having won both of their previous meetings. Both of those matches came on clay, including a straight-set win for the Belarusian at Madrid last season.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Azarenka (2012 and 2013 Australian Open) has won 13 of her last 14 matches, which includes her first title since 2016 at the Western & Southern Open title, as well a run to her fifth Grand Slam final at the US Open just last week.

Polona Hercog and 2019 Roland Garros finalist Marketa Vondrousova will square off for the first time. Hercog recorded just her second career Top 10 victory in 33 matches against that echelon on Thursday, when she upset No.5 seed Kiki Bertens.