Pick 'em: Can anyone stop Swiatek or Gauff in Monday's Round of 16 in Rome?

ROME -- It will be another busy Monday at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where all eight Round of 16 matches will be played to set up the business end of the sixth WTA 1000 tournament of the season. 

Rome 2024: Scores | Schedule | Draws

Here's a breakdown of Monday's matches, and don't forget, sign up for free and submit your predictions now. 

Top Half

[1] Iga Swiatek vs. Angelique Kerber

Head-to-head: Swiatek leads 2-0

Can Swiatek become the third woman to sweep Madrid and Rome in a single season? She's looked sharp so far. The World No.1 has continued her momentum from her Madrid win to extend her winning streak to eight. She has not lost a set in her two matches, beating Bernarda Pera and Yulia Putintseva. 

Next up: former No.1 Kerber, who has won three matches in Rome for the first time in over a decade. After illness derailed the start of her clay season and forced her out of Madrid, Kerber hasn't lost a set with wins over Lauren Davis, 17th seed Veronika Kudermetova and Aliaksandra Sasnovich.  

"I'm happy with how I move and how I slide because this is always tricky, especially for me," Kerber told WTA Insider. "I'm happy that I won in the last three matches the tough moments, the close moments."

One of the keys for Kerber's clay-court traction has been a change in her routine. Since returning to the tour in January after an 18-month maternity leave, Kerber says she's spending less time on site and shifting her practices earlier to give herself a full day away from tennis. The change has helped me mentally. She's playing with more joy and freedom. 

In short, Angie Kerber is having fun again. 

"The mental side, it's the most important thing," Kerber said. "I know that I can play tennis, I showed it so many times. It's more about being here, focusing on this moment, not having my mind on something else, on being with Liana right now. So far it works good."

The winner will play either Keys or Cirstea in the quarterfinals. 

[18] Madison Keys vs. [28] Sorana Cirstea

Head-to-head: Cirstea leads 2-0

Coming off her semifinal run in Madrid, Keys' clay-court resurgence continues in Rome. It may not be her favorite surface, but she was a finalist in Rome in 2016. Her power game translates well to the clay and she's always been comfortable sliding. It's just about making the right decisions in rallies, and Keys has come up clutch all month. She came through back-to-back three-setters to book her fourth-round spot this week, beating Camila Osorio and Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Despite their ranking differential, Keys may be the underdog when she faces Cirstea. The Romanian has never lost to Keys and earned her third Top 10 win of the year in the third round, defeating Marketa Vondrousova.  

The winner will play either Swiatek or Kerber in the quarterfinals.

[3] Coco Gauff vs. Paula Badosa

Head-to-head: Badosa leads 3-1

Gauff is hoping on getting her serve sorted out before the French Open, but she's perfectly willing to scrap through wins in the meantime. The World No.3 overcame 15 double faults to beat Jaqueline Cristian in three sets to advance to the Round of 16. 

Now she comes up against a familiar opponent who is resurgent and built with a game that has troubled the 20-year-old American. Badosa has tallied three quality wins in Rome, beating Mirra Andreeva, Emma Navarro and Diana Shnaider. The back injury that marred her play over the last year appears to be under control and with that, the former No.2 is finding her top-flight game once again. It's the first time she's won three consecutive matches since her quarterfinal here last year. 

"I respect her a lot as a person," Badosa told WTA Insider. "There are great athletes on tour, but I love when there are great athletes who are a nice person. So we have a great relationship. She was very nice to me during the injury. She was texting me, checking in, so it shows how good of a person she is.

"She's an amazing player, so mature, big shots. I love these kind of matches. I know it's going to be a match maybe on Center Court and these are the matches that I've been waiting for the last year."

The winner will play either Osaka or Zheng in the quarterfinals.

Naomi Osaka vs. [7] Zheng Qinwen

Head-to-head: Osaka leads 1-0.

So can we call her "Clay-omi"? Osaka has not lost a set with wins over Clara Burel, Marta Kostyuk and Daria Kasatkina. Those last two wins were her first two Top 20 wins on clay in her career. 

"Please don't," Osaka said with a laugh. "Please. I think I need more clay credentials for that."

Osaka's notable improvement on clay has come in part with a focus on playing her forehand with more spin and patience to set up her flatter swings. She'll get a front row seat for one of the heaviest forehands in the game in Zheng, who has trained on the clay in Barcelona for the last few years. Zheng won her first Hologic WTA Tour title on Italian clay in Palermo last year. 

Aside from the tennis, the match offers a little bit of spice from the coaching box. Wim Fissette left Zheng to rejoin Osaka's team last fall in a move that was loudly criticized by the Chinese star.

Water under the bridge? Just a few months later, Zheng re-teamed with her former coach Pere Riba and made her first major final at the Australian Open in January. 

The winner will play either Gauff or Badosa in the quarterfinals.

Bottom Half

[5] Maria Sakkari vs. [24] Victoria Azarenka

Head-to-head: Azarenka leads 2-0

It's a clash of veterans when Sakkari and Azarenka face off for a spot in the quarterfinals, and the most surprising thing here is it's only their third career meeting. This will be their first meeting on clay and first overall in nearly three years. Azarenka won their last duel on Canadian hard courts, edging Sakkari in a third-set tiebreak. 

Sakkari has been in resurgent form since Indian Wells, where she made her first final of the year. Since then, she's made the Round of 16 or better in every tournament she's played. She hasn't lost a set in Rome.

Insider Podcast: Checking in with a resurgent Maria Sakkari

"I just felt like there was a consistency which I really like because I feel like that's what's going to take me to my level where I'm going to hopefully win a big title," Sakkari said. "That's what I'm looking for right now. So, yeah, I would say things are in a good way, and that's what makes me very happy on the court."

In contrast, Azarenka has been a battler. The former No.1 came through two tough three-set wins over Magda Linette and Mayar Sherif to make her 10th Round of 16 in Rome. 

"I've changed a couple of things physically and they're not quite clicking yet," Azarenka said. "So I'm going through these battles. But I think it's important that when I'm not feeling my best, I'm able to fight through and find the ways.

"It's a little up and down here and there but overall I feel the level is raising, my resilience is going pretty good. Trying to find solutions is something that I want to continue to build. Mentally I'm improving for sure."

The winner will play either Collins or Begu in the quarterfinals.

[13] Danielle Collins vs. Irina-Camelia Begu

Head-to-head: Collins leads 1-0

Collins continues her wrecking-ball form in Rome. The American has won 17 of her last 18 matches. Her only loss came to World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in a remarkably high-quality three-set battle in Madrid. 

Begu was a semifinalist in Rome in 2016 and the Romanian has always played her best tennis on clay. After a three-set win over Rebeka Masarova in the first round, she advanced to the third round after Oceane Dodin retired due to injury. But her 6-2, 6-0 win over 27th-seed Elise Mertens was a result that made you sit up and take notice. 

Winner faces either Sakkari or Azarenka in the quarterfinals.

[Q] Rebecca Sramkova vs. [9] Jelena Ostapenko

Head-to-head: Tied 1-1

No.120 Sramkova is the surprise of the second week. The Slovakian came through qualifying and knocked out 26th seed Katie Boulter and Sofia Kenin to make the Round of 16 at a WTA 1000 for the first time in her career. 

Getting to know: Rebecca Sramkova

Ostapenko came through a rollercoaster match against Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo, where she struck 72 winners but 69 unforced errors. She blamed the changing conditions as temperatures dropped in the evening and the variance between how the balls were playing once they were worn down for her inconsistency. 

"In general I'm happy with my game, but against players like her who get the balls back, especially on clay, it's not easy to play. But in the third set I found my game, I was doing my thing, and being aggressive."

Ostapenko knows Sramkova from their junior days. 

"I think we played a few times in juniors as well, so I kind of know how she's playing," Ostapenko said. "Obviously she's having a great week. But I will just focus on myself and recover for tomorrow and be ready for another fault."

The winner will face either Sabalenka or Svitolina in the quarterfinals.

[16] Elina Svitolina vs. [2] Aryna Sabalenka

Head-to-head: Sabalenka leads 2-1

Sabalenka started the tournament with a cold that kept her in bed for much of the week. But after shaking off the cobwebs to post a three-set win in her opening round against Volynets, Sabalenka looked back to her best in a straight-set win over Yastremska on Sunday. 

She'll be the favorite on Monday against two-time Rome champion Svitolina, who says she's been unable to practice fully due to various injuries. But a return to a tournament filled with some of the best moments of her career has helped Svitolina find the self-belief to notch two strong wins over Sara Errani and Anna Kalinskaya. 

"She's been playing really well, it's no doubt," Svitolina said. "But for me, it's important to stick to my game. I know that I can play well here, so I try to draw confidence from this. For me, I don't really think so much anymore that this is a big match. It's important for me to focus on the little things, the preparations, to get ready. Because it's the worst feeling when you have pain and you're not 100 percent.

"So I'll focus on the things I can control and then we'll see how it goes. It's another big challenge but I accept it."

The winner will face either Ostapenko or Sramkova in the quarterfinals.