In the 2023 BNL Italy International (ATP1000 & WTA1000), which is being held at the Foro Italiano Tennis Stadium in Rome, Italy, the top seeds are eliminated one after another. In the men’s ATP event, this year’s Mutua Madrid Open champion Carlos Alkaras (Spain, world No. 2) and Monte Carlo Masters champion Andrei Rublev (Russia, world No. 6) failed to cross the threshold of the round of 32 and 16, respectively.
The elimination of top seeds is even more noticeable in the women’s WTA match. The elimination of No. 2 seed Arina Sabalenka (Belarus, world No. 2), who had risen to the Madrid Open champion, was only the beginning. 3rd seed Jesse Fegula (USA, world No. 3) and 4th seed Ounce Jaber (Tunisia, world No. 7) also suffered in the round of 64, while 5th seed Caroline Garcia (France, world No. 4) and 6th seed Coco Gauff (USA, world number 5) was also eliminated in the round of 32.
As of the 17th, with the quarterfinals in progress, the biggest match of the remaining quarterfinals will be held at 3:30 am (Korean time) on the 18th. World No. 1 Iga Sibiongtech (Poland) and No. 6 Elana Rivakina (Kazakhstan) clash. Sibiong Tech received the 1st seed in this tournament, and Rivakina received the 7th seed. Among the players still alive, these two have the highest ranking and seeding. It is a match that can be called a de facto final.
Of the two, the recent momentum is the superiority of Sibiong Tech. Rivakina, who drew attention by winning the Indian Wells (WTA1000) and runner-up at the Miami Open (WTA1000) in March, had to pack her bags in two rounds each at the Stuttgart Open (WTA500) and Madrid Open (WTA1000) in April and May. Instead, Sibiong Tech relatively made up for her March slump with her Stuttgart Open win and Madrid Open runner-up.
The opponent’s record between the two is Rivakina’s 2-1 advantage. In particular, in the two matches held this year, Rivakina defeated Sibiong Tech, who were both top seeders. She won the Grand Slam Australian Open 6-4 6-4 in the round of 16 and 6-2 6-2 in the Indian Wells semifinal. 안전놀이터
However, both tournaments were held on hard courts. This Italian International is a clay court. Rivakina has a clay court win rate of 66% in all competitions organized and supervised by the World Tennis Federation (ITF), which is similar to her career win rate of 68%. On the other hand, Sibiong Tech has a career win rate of 87% on clay courts, which is higher than her own career win rate of 80%. This is the reason why Sibiong Tech can be called the next-generation mud god.
Can Rivakina continue this year’s nemesis relationship with Sibiong Tech? Or could Sibiong Tech restore her pride? On the morning of the 18th, the results will come out.