The first two quarterfinals at the Rome Masters will be played on Wednesday, when Karen Khachanov faces Casper Ruud. Italy’s own Luciano Darderi tries to continue his run against Rafael Jodar.
(23) Casper Ruud vs. (13) Karen Khachanov
Khachanov and Ruud will be meeting for just the fourth time in their careers when they battle for a semifinal spot at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Wednesday. Ruud leads the head-to-head series 2-1, which includes a four-set victory in the 2022 U.S. Open semifinals. The Norwegian also won their only previous clay-court contest — 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 at this same Rome event in 2020.
Ruud is once again making headway during his favorite time of year. The world No. 25 is coming off a quarterfinal performance in Madrid and he will fare at least that well at the Foro Italico after beating Zachary Svajda, Jiri Lehecka, and Lorenzo Musetti all in straight sets. Khachanov has done well to defeat Alexander Shevchenko, Botic van de Zandschulp, and Dino Prizmic, but he is still a disappointing 11-10 for the season. The 15th-ranked Russian will likely be overmatched in this one by a superior clay-court player.
Pick: Ruud in 2
(32) Radael Jodar vs. (18) Luciano Darderi
This is a huge match for both players — but especially for Jodar. If the 19-year-old Spaniard prevails, he will secure a top-24 seed at Roland Garros to set him up nicely to make a real run at the season’s second Grand Slam. Of course, it might not matter who he is facing on any given day considering how well Jodar is playing right now. The world No. 34’s clay-court surge features a title in Marrakech, a quarterfinal showing in Madrid, and Rome victories over Nuno Borges, Matteo Arnaldi, and Learner Tien.
Up next for Jodar is a first-ever showdown against Darderi, who is enjoying the best tournament of his career in front of the home crowd. The 20th-ranked Italian ousted Yannick Hanfmann and Tommy Paul before saving four match points to upset Alexander Zverev 1-6, 7-6(10), 6-0 on Tuesday. As well as Darderi is playing, getting right back in action with no days off following such a hard-fought and monumental result will be tough. Even tougher is the fact that it’s Jodar on the other side of the net.
Pick: Jodar in 2