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Madison Keys joked she was tempted to take on protesters as a number of Italian Open matches were disrupted by climate crisis protest group Last Generation on Monday.
During Keys’ 6-2, 6-1 win against Sorana Kirstea, play was stopped for nearly an hour after protesters threw confetti onto the clay courts and tried to cling to the stands. “Honestly, as soon as I saw them go through the barrier, my first thought was, ‘Should I go tackle them?'” Keys said, laughing.
“I stopped myself and then the chair [umpire] started yelling at me to sit down. Unfortunately, this is becoming a bit of a common thing to happen. At that point I thought there was probably going to be a little bit of a delay and I just tried to get off the court and regroup.”
Around the same time, protesters also stopped play on the Pietrangeli court, where a doubles match was being held. At the tribune, Rome’s second largest court, protesters were stopped before they could enter the court. Asked about the increasing frequency of protests in tennis, Keys said: “It’s not the best feeling when you’re on the court. Your first thought is your safety. I think maybe banning cement and glue in bags would be a start.”
The keys will stand up Iga Svetek, the top seed, in a rematch of the Madrid Open semifinals after Swiatek overcame the impressive Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3. Naomi Osaka’s promising streak ended in the fourth round when she was beaten 6-2, 6-4 by Zheng Qinwen, the seventh seed and Australian Open finalist. Zheng will stand up next Coco Gauffthe third seed, who beat Paula Badosa 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.
Arina Sabalenka saved three match points en route to a thriller against Elina Svitolina 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7). The No. 2 seed was treated for a back injury early in the final set but completed her comeback with a win. Her next match is the former French Open champion Elena Ostapenko, who also came from behind to defeat Rebecca Sramkova 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Despite battling hard in the second set against one of the most in-form players of the clay court season so far, Cameron Norrie was outscored 6-2, 7-6 (1) in the third round ofStephanos Tsitsipas, the sixth seed. “I feel good, I feel good,” Norrie said. “I’m just disappointed to lose a game like that because I feel like I have the level, I have the belief, I have everything to beat these players, but it’s just not happening for me.”
After the highs of 2022 and the start of 2023, which saw Norrie rise to a career high of No. 8, he is desperate to take another step forward in his career. Now ranked No. 30, he hasn’t lost against a lower opponent all season on clay, but he’s a poor pick against the elite, many of whom are able to outplay and outsmart him.
“They’re doing better than me,” Norrie said. “More accurate with the forehand, serves better than me. I think I return very well, but, yeah, I’m just a little bit more accurate with their forehand and I play the bigger points better than me.”
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of Australia Alex de Minaur will play Tsitsipas in the round of 16 after beating Felix Auger-Aliasim 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4. Andrei Rublev, who defeated Auger-Aliasim in the final in Madrid, suffered a surprise 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 defeat by French qualifier Alexander Muller.
Reigning champion Daniil Medvedev survived a scare to dispatch qualifier Hamad Medjedovic in three sets, winning 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-5. Tommy Paul will play Medvedev in the Round of 16 after the American defeated Germany’s Dominic Koepfer 6-4, 6-3. Holger Rune crashed after Argentina’s Sebastian Baez fought back to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Andy Murray, meanwhile, has surprisingly decided to make a major kit change at the end of his career. Murray, who has played with Head racquets throughout his career, will test a Yonex racket when he returns to action this week at the ATP Challenger in Bordeaux.
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