Quarterfinals were set on Friday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia as eight third-round matches completed. Our photographer Jimmie48 attended most singles matches, as well as some doubles encounters, so after a short recap you can see all the photos he took in Rome today.
The first player to reach quarterfinals on Friday was defending champion Karolina Pliskova who defeated Russian qualifier Anna Blinkova 6-4 6-3, winning back-to-back matches for the first time since this year’s Australian Open. The second-seeded Czech will next play seed No.11 Elise Mertens, as the Belgian advanced past Montenegrin qualifier Danka Kovinic 6-4 6-4.
Top seed Simona Halep proved her superiority on Tour, confidently beating Dayana Yastremska 7-5 6-4 even though the 20-year-old Ukrainian played at a high level. Yulia Putintseva, who upset tenth seed Elena Rybakina 4-6 7-6(3) 6-2 in an all-Kazakh encounter, will try to end Halep’s 11-match winning streak in the quarterfinals of Rome.
Victoria Azarenka advanced when Daria Kasatkina rolled her ankle in the first-set tiebreak and retired from the third-round match in tears. The 14th-ranked Azarenka is set to face a Grand Slam champion for the fifth time in her last six matches, as her quarterfinal opponent will be ninth seed Garbine Muguruza, who ousted last year’s Rome runner-up Johanna Konta 6-4 6-1.
Fourth seed Elina Svitolina played her 100th tiebreak (56-44 record) en route to a 7-6(6) 6-4 victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova and her third appearance in Rome quarterfinals where she’ll play against twelfth seed Marketa Vondrousova, who closed Friday’s third-round action with a 1-6 6-1 7-6(5) win over Polona Hercog.
MORE PHOTOS FROM THE 2020 INTERNAZIONALI BNL D’ITALIA:
- Thursday: Kenin, Bertens, Martic, Kontaveit out in the second round
- Wednesday: Halep, Pliskova, Svitolina advance to third round
- Tuesday: Kerber out, Muguruza and Gauff advance
- Monday: First-round action kicks off, US Open finalist Victoria Azarenka arrives in Rome
- Getting ready for the tournament
