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Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Rome Masters Tennis Picks 2025 (Wednesday 14th May)

Two selections were made on Tuesday and they returned at 1-1, which meant a slight loss on the day.

Overall the Rome Masters remains in a positive position and we are now into the Quarter Final Round for both the ATP and WTA events being run here, although with one Fourth Round match to be completed after the rain delays in the Italian capital.

Both selections made on Wednesday come from the WTA Quarter Final matches that have been scheduled with the two ATP Quarter Finals looking like they could be very competitive.


Aryna Sabalenka - 4.5 games v Qinwen Zheng: She may not have been at her absolute best in the last two Rounds, but Aryna Sabalenka is set to head to the French Open feeling like the player to beat. The World Number 1 has yet to win a Grand Slam away from the hard courts, but picking up the title in Madrid and backing that up with this run to the Quarter Final in Rome will have given her so much confidence.

While Iga Swiatek has struggled for form, Aryna Sabalenka has looked very comfortable on every surface on which she has competed in 2025.

Winning titles will always make players believe that much more in what they are doing, but the win in Madrid isn't always the best indicator as to how someone will perform in Paris at the second Grand Slam. That clay court tournament in the Spanish capital has long felt different to most European clay events due to the conditions, but Aryna Sabalenka's run in Rome is a much clearer indicator of how tough she is going to be to beat.

Not being at her best and still winning matches can only aid Aryna Sabalenka if things get tough at the French Open and she will be keen to keep control of the head to head with a potential rival for the Championship.

This is the first time Sabalenka and Qinwen Zheng will be playing on a surface other than a hard court and the respect for the latter will come from the fact she won Olympic Gold playing at Roland Garros last summer. The World Number 8 had been lacking some form on the clay courts in the lead up to Rome, but Qinwen Zheng has impressed in her three wins at the tournament and is now looking to snap the six match losing run against the Belarusian standing across the net.

There have been some competitive meetings in that time, but Qinwen Zheng has not served well enough to control the aggressive nature of Aryna Sabalenka.

Nothing is too wrong with the first serve when it lands, but the Zheng second serve can be vulnerable and that is where Aryna Sabalenka can strike.

During this run to the Quarter Final, Qinwen Zheng has really impressed with her returning, but she would be the first to admit of the qualities of the Aryna Sabalenka serve and how much of a step upwards this represents compared with the serves she has faced so far.

In their previous meetings, that Sabalenka serve has dominated the numbers and the run of wins on the clay can be pushed one more forward with another solid win over this fellow top ten Ranked opponent.


Coco Gauff - 1.5 games v Mirra Andreeva: It feels like Coco Gauff is a veteran of the Tour having made her breakthrough when she was very young, but the soon to be new World Number 2 is still only 21 years old.

She will certainly understand what Mirra Andreeva is going through as another youngster who made a big impression far before she turned 18 years old and who will have to handle the same expectations that Coco Gauff has dealt with in her own career.

The Russian player turned 18 years old at the end of April and she has everything in her tennis to have a real big impact at every Grand Slam event she plays. With a fairly open French Open coming up, Mirra Andreeva will have her backers when it comes to winning a maiden Grand Slam title, but she will have something to prove in this match up.

For now it is Coco Gauff who has had the better of the head to head with three wins from three matches played, including a strong win in Madrid in the previous tournament. That was also a Quarter Final win and the American took full advantage of the conditions to break down the Mirra Andreeva game and it will give Coco Gauff a huge amount of belief as she looks to lay down a marker to all by trying to win the tournament here in Rome.

Coco Gauff has shown a real comfort in playing on the clay courts over the last fifteen months and she has improved on some pretty good numbers that were set last year. There has been a bit more solidness behind the second serve, which can be so important on a surface like clay, and Coco Gauff has also been slightly stronger when it comes to the return and this adds up to a dangerous player.

No one should doubt the qualities of Mirra Andreeva when it comes to performing on the clay courts and her own numbers have been very impressive overall and during this run in Rome. She is not afraid of taking on the best players on the Tour on the clay courts either, but Andreeva's serve is still developing and that is something that Coco Gauff has tended to expose in their meetings.

Opposing Mirra Andreeva is not easy considering the talent she has, but she is facing a very good Coco Gauff and a player who has that appetite to try and stay on top of what could be a rival for the next decade.

Mirra Andreeva has played well in her three wins in Rome, but Coco Gauff may still be operating at a slightly higher level and she can frank that win in Madrid by beating the younger player in a second Quarter Final in succession.

MY PICKS: Aryna Sabalenka - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 William Hill (1 Unit)
Coco Gauff - 1.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Rome Update: 10-7, + 1.42 Units (17 Units Staked, + 8.35% Yield)

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