Top seed Simona Halep came through a compelling battle against Garbine Muguruza to reach a third Rome final, where she will play defending champion Karolina Pliskova.
While Halep’s victory opened the day’s play at the Foro Italico, Diego Schwartzman’s dramatic victory over Denis Shapovlov closed it, a result sending the Argentine into his first ATP Masters final.
There he will face Novak Djokovic, who beat Capser Ruud to earn a shot at his fifth Rome title.
Halep masters Muguruza
In another memorable battle between two-time major champions, Halep held off Muguruza 6-3 4-6 6-4 to progress to her third Rome final in four years.
Halep led 6-3 3-1, and 5-1 in the final set, yet Muguruza – who was playing through a left leg injury – kept pushing to extend the battle to two hours and 17 minutes.
Halep’s victory avenged her loss to Muguruza in their brutal AO 2020 semifinal, which is the last time the Romanian lost a match.
She has since won 13 straight, a run that has taken in titles in Dubai and Prague.
"She's a very, very difficult player. It's always a good feeling when I win against her," said Halep, who improved to 19-2 in 2020. "I feel confident now that I was able to win this match."
Pliskova back in Rome final
Halep will play for the title against No.2 seed Pliskova, who reached her second straight final after dismissing fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova, a French Open finalist in 2019.
Pliskova’s 6-2 6-4 triumph means she is on a nine-match winning streak at the Foro Italico, where last year she beat Johanna Konta to claim her biggest title on red clay.
“I guess here with every round I feel better,” Pliskova said. “Of course clay has never been my favorite surface, but now I know that I can play some great tennis and I can win tournaments on clay, too.”
Pliskova trails the head-to-head 4-7 against Halep but has won three of their past four matches, including their most recent at last year’s WTA Finals.
Djokovic into 10th Rome final
The world No.1’s 7-5 6-3 victory over Casper Ruud of Norway moved him through to a record 52nd ATP Masters 1000 final.
Yet while this straight-sets victory looks relatively comfortable on paper, it was anything but; Ruud led 5-3 in the first set, then served for it in the 10th game, but could not convert set points at 40-15.
Djokovic won four games in a row to clinch the opening set, then saved four break points in the third game of the second set, before subduing the Norwegian in two hours, 11 minutes.
The Serb is seeking his first title in Rome since 2015, having fallen in three subsequent finals.
Schwartzman continues dream run
In the title match, Djokovic will face eighth seed Schwartzman, who recovered from 2-4 down in the final set to beat Shapovalov 6-4 5-7 7-6(4).
Shapovalov served for the match when ahead 5-4 in the third, but could not hold off the Argentine, who triumphed after an epic three-hour, 15-minute struggle.
A round earlier, Schwartzman stopped the run of nine-time champion Rafael Nadal, and will attempt the Herculean task of trying to beat Nadal and Djokovic at the same tournament.
Schwartzman fell to Djokovic in three sets in last year’s Rome semifinals, and is yet to beat the 17-time major champion in four career meetings.
“Diego played the match of his life last night (against Nadal) and he also is most comfortable on clay,” said Djokovic, who owns a 30-1 record in 2020. “Whatever comes my way, I will be ready and hopefully I can get my hands on the trophy.”