The red-hot #KikiBertens will look to extend her winning streak to nine matches as she takes on the surprise package in #JohannaKonta in the semifinals of the #InternazionaliBNLDItalia. The Dutchwoman, who has been so proficient on clay throughout her career, will battle for a spot in the final against the Brit, who only managed to find her footing on the dirt this year.
Bertens: Can she complete the Madrid-Rome double?
Bertens impressively triumphed at the Mutua Madrid Open last week, defeating Petra Kvitova (in a rematch of their thrilling 2018 final), Sloane Stephens, and former world number one Simona Halep in succession to lift the title. The Dutchwoman, who employs her crafty playing style to dominate the clay season, played brilliantly to create history as she became the first-ever woman to prevail in Madrid without losing a set.
Her list of achievements on clay can be found as early as 2016, which saw her reach the semifinals of Roland Garros as an unseeded player having never progressed into the second week of a Major previously. Bertens’ rise can be attributed to her successes on clay, although three of her last four WTA titles came on hard courts.
After her dominating run in Madrid which solidified her status as a huge favourite for the French Open title, Bertens rose to a new career-high ranking of four, re-setting the highest ranking any Dutchwoman had achieved. Heading into Rome, she was handed a favourable draw and reaching the final should not be a huge shock once again.
Receiving a bye into the second round, Bertens narrowly edged past Amanda Anisimova in a battle determined by her willpower and fighting spirit. The world number four was just an inch away from losing a 6-2, 3-0 lead, but overcame a mid-match slip-up to grab the huge, confidence-boosting win.
Due to rain washing out play the day prior, Bertens was forced to compete for the second time in the same day as this time she needed three sets to defeat Carla Suarez Navarro, who grew up playing on clay courts. Similarly, she was pushed to the brink and needed to remain composed throughout the match, booking a spot in the quarterfinals as a result.
This time, the fatigue certainly came into effect for Bertens. However, just about half an hour before her highly-anticipated meeting with world number one Naomi Osaka, the Japanese announced her withdrawal due to a hand injury which gifted Bertens an extra day of rest which will definitely help her preparation for the semifinals.
This match has a huge stake for both players — if Bertens triumph, she will have a huge chance of entering Roland Garros as the second seed despite having a negative record at all the Majors combined.
Konta: Surprise, surprise!
Ever since reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2017, it has been a downward spiral for Konta. She dropped from a career-high ranking of four to as low as 50th in the world early this year. Forced to deal with tough draws and entering lower-tier tournaments, Konta was struggling for form and her game went haywire as her opponents started to anticipate what is coming from the Brit.
Konta was known for her struggles on clay even during her peak — having not won a main draw match at Roland Garros in her career. She started her clay-court season as the world number 47, but surprisingly, she will leave Rome being at the 32nd position, at worst.
The hard-hitting Brit never once reached a quarterfinal on clay, but went all the way at the Morocco Open as she battled through three three-set matches consecutively to reach the final. She saved three match points in the first round against Wang Yafan, and despite leading by a set and a break in the final, Konta was unable to end off the week on a high.
Within less than 24 hours after her heartbroken final loss, Konta transited onto the faster clay in Madrid and defeated the dangerous Alison Riske in straight sets to set up a mouth-watering clash with Simona Halep. Although the Brit had her chances, she was unable to maintain her high level of tennis throughout the encounter and ultimately fell in straight sets.
Konta was even more impressive in Rome, defeating Riske in the opening round with the exact same scoreline once more. That was not only it as the former top-five player defeated back-to-back American Grand Slam champions Sloane Stephens and Venus Williams on the same day, advancing into the quarterfinals with some fantastic performances.
Going up against a fatigued Marketa Vondrousova, Konta had the best birthday present she could have asked for, ousting the Czech youngster 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 within less than two hours as she reached her biggest semifinal since 2017 Wimbledon. As a result, she successfully earned herself a seeded position at Roland Garros.
Match Analysis: Can Konta continue her clay-court run?
Konta has the big weapons, but there is no doubt that Bertens can match up with the Brit in terms of her power. This will be their fifth meeting with their past meetings being split evenly. However, they have only met twice on the WTA level with Bertens triumphing in their tight affair at the BNP Paribas Open earlier this year, prevailing with a tight 7-6, 6-4 scoreline.
Bertens’ experience on clay will prove crucial, with this being her 13th career clay semifinal while this is just Konta’s second in one month. The extra rest she enjoyed will certainly have its effect as the Dutchwoman had been fatigued from the amount of tennis she had played in the past weeks, and despite Konta’s fairytale run, Bertens will have a huge chance of ending it on Saturday afternoon.
This should be Bertens’ match to lose, although Konta will be looking to defeat the hottest player on the tour right now. It will be an uphill mountain to climb for the Brit, who comes into the match as the underdog, but judging by her quality of play this month, nothing would be impossible.
Match Prediction: Bertens d. Konta in straight sets
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