Weekend tennis acca: Iga Swiatek and Alexander Zverev backed to impress in Rome

Iga Swiatek is one win away from claiming the Madrid-Rome WTA 1000 double but her great rival Aryna Sabalenka stands in her way.

Sabalenka is entrenched as the world No 2 and is trying to chase down Swiatek at the top of the women's game.

On Sunday Alexander Zverev will be out to bag his second Rome title when he faces first-time finalist Nicolas Jarry.

Here we make our picks for both Rome finals and a handful more matches to help you put together a tennis-based accumulator this weekend.

 

ATP Rome: Alexander Zverev vs Nicolas Jarry | Pick: Zverev

WTA Rome: Iga Swiatek vs Aryna Sabalenka | Pick: Swiatek

Challenger Bordeaux: Juncheng Shang vs Pedro Martinez Portero | Pick: Portero

Challenger Bordeaux: Arthur Fils vs Gregoire Barrere | Pick: Fils

Challenger Turin: Lorenzo Musetti vs Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves | Pick: Musetti

Challenger Turin: Matteo Arnaldi vs Luciano Darderi | Pick: Arnaldi

Challenger Paris: Diana Shnaider vs Varvara Gracheva | Pick: Shnaider

Challenger Paris: Emma Navarro vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse | Pick: Navarro

 

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ATP Rome: Alexander Zverev vs Nicolas Jarry

Alexander Zverev and Nicolas Jarry will share the court for the seventh time when they go head-to-head for the Italian Open title in Rome on Sunday.

Zverev holds a 4-2 lead in the head-to-head right now and has a significant edge in terms of big-match experience.

Jarry is playing in the biggest match of his career to date as he contests his first Masters final.

By contrast, this will be Zverev's 11th Masters final while he is chasing his sixth title at this level.

 

WTA Rome: Iga Swiatek vs Aryna Sabalenka

Iga Swiatek is out to become the third woman and first, since Serena Williams in 2013 to claim both the Madrid and Rome titles in a single season.

Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka has revenge on her mind after Swiatek thwarted her chance to become a three-time champion in Madrid.

This match could repeat itself in Paris a few weeks from now if things run according to seeding at Roland Garros.

This will be the 11th career meeting between the two, with Swiatek leading the head-to-head 7-3 and coming off a win over Sabalenka in Madrid two weeks back.

 

Challenger Bordeaux: Juncheng Shang vs Pedro Martinez Portero

Juncheng Shang faces Pedro Martinez Portero for the second time in his career having lost the previous meeting.

This will be their first meeting in a Challenger event and second clash on clay.

Portero is 22-11 for the season a record that is slightly better than Shang's 17-10 run this term.

Portero has 16 match wins on clay this season giving him the edge on his favoured surface.

 

Challenger Bordeaux: Arthur Fils vs Gregoire Barrere

In the other Bordeaux semi-final home players Arthur Fils and Gregoire Barrere do battle for the third time.

Fils and Barrere have evenly split their two previous meetings which both came at Challenger level.

Barrere has won three sets off of Fils who has claimed just two set wins over his compatriot.

Fils won the only meeting between this player on clay last May.

 

Challenger Turin: Lorenzo Musetti vs Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves

In Turin, an all-Italian semi-final remains on the cards but first Lorenzo Musetti will need to best Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves.

The head-to-head is 1-0 for Musetti ahead of the second meeting between these players.

They clashed when Brazil faced Italy in the 2022 United Cup with Musetti winning that match.

Musetti is out to find his form on clay after a disappointing start to the swing.

 

Challenger Turin: Matteo Arnaldi vs Luciano Darderi

The other Turin quarter-final is an all-Italian affair with up-and-comers Matteo Arnaldi and Luciano Darderi set for a second meeting.

Arnaldi came out on top in their only previous clash which came in qualifying for the 2022 Zadar Challenger.

Arnaldi got to the quarter after beating Fabio Fognini 6-3 6-4 in the previous round.

Darderi bested Camilo Ugo Carabelli and Marc-Andrea Huesler to reach this stage.

 

Challenger Paris: Diana Shnaider vs Varvara Gracheva

This Challenger Paris meeting is an all-French affair with two players playing great tennis throughout the week.

Shnaider and Gracheva have never gone head-to-head before while the former holds the rankings lead.

Both players have beaten quality opposition throughout their week in Paris.

Shnaider is probably slightly favoured in this one even if she has had to play more games to get here.

 

Challenger Paris: Emma Navarro vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse

In the other Paris semi-final, we have another first-time meeting between American  Emma Navarro and Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

Navarro is enjoying the better season of the two with 28 match wins banked already against 16 for her opponent.

Ruse has been better on clay holding an 11-4 record on the surface while Navarro has won seven of her ten matches on the red stuff.

Navarro double-bagled Lauren Davis last time out to sweep into the semi-final in imperious fashion.