Rome Masters 2016 - Resurrection and Realignment: How Ready Are The biggies?
Serena Williams and Roger Federer have one last chance at Rome to resurrect their clay campaigns. Beset by injuries, th two 34-year-old legends have tricky draws to deal with. What are their chances?
Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray now have one nemesis in common – Novak Djokovic. They will have to realign in order to deal with him. How ready are they?
Players in Resurrection mode
Serena Williams will be playing her first tournament on clay this year. Missing from action earlier owing to illness, the World No.1 has a draw full of minefields. Simona Halep, the newly crowned Champion at Madrid and Angelique Kerber, the reigning queen at Stuttgart stand in her way.
Halep’s improved serve and Kerber’s all court game will be quite a challenge for Williams. Though Williams has won three titles at Rome, clay has never been her bastion.
Readiness: Lack of match practice could affect Williams’ chances. She may manage a deep run at Rome but is prone to defeat at the hands of Halep or Kerber, or even the resurgent Azarenka.
On the contrary, this may work in her favor arriving at Roland Garros. Though she is the defending champion there, she may escape the excessive scrutiny of her attempt to bag Slam No.22.
Roger Federer opted to pull out of Madrid to rest his back. Back at World No.2, owing to Murray’s failure to defend his Madrid title, Federer is not in an enviable position. At Rome, he finds himself in the same half of the draw as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Slated to meet either of them in the Semi Final, Federer has few more hurdles to encounter in the early stages of the tournament.
Federer will have to get past the unseeded Alexander Zverev and 13th seed Dominic Thiem in the Second and Third Rounds respectively. Thiem, who has off late put together a string of noteworthy performances, should be a stern test for Federer.
Readiness: The three matches at Monte Carlo should hold Federer in good stead at Rome. Touted to meet Kei Nishikori in the Quarter Final, Federer has lost their only meeting on clay in a 3 Set battle at Madrid in 2013. However, Nishikori has to quell the ‘Gasquet challenge’, against whom he is 1-6 head to head, before playing Federer.
Federer may do well enough to reach the Semi Final. Given his record against Nadal on clay and Djokovic’s current dominance, Federer may not have another shot at his first Rome Masters.
Victoria Azarenka returned to the top 10 in style. She marked her resurgence by winning Brisbane earlier this year and reinforced it by clinching back to back titles at Indian Wells and Miami. Her clay campaign was cut short by a back injury at Madrid. Azarenka typically takes more time to prepare for the red dirt.
Readiness: Yet to prove herself as a seasoned clay court player, she has reached the Finals at Rome in 2013. Azarenka will be looking to build on her recent successes. She was clinical in the couple of matches she played at Madrid. Over the years, she has also managed two Quarter Final berths and one Semi Final appearance at Roland Garros. Her epic clash against Serena Williams in last year’s Quarter Final at the French Open showed glimpses of what a quality clay court player she can be.
The hunger and ferocity with which she plays her tennis should outdo her lack of reputation on clay. She is definitely the favorite at Rome along with Simona Halep.