The oldest player in the final four since Navratilova!

Cîrstea has built her week match by match with remarkable physical economy. A win over Tatiana Maria 6-2 6-0, a win over Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 7-5 in the upset of the week, a win over Nosková 6-2 6-4 in 81 minutes, a win over Ostapenko 6-1 7-6 in 1h30 yesterday in the quarters. Four matches, taken to a third set only once, with short durations in the last three rounds. She becomes the oldest player to reach the final four in Rome since Martina Navratilova in 1994 and enters the top 10 of the Race with this 27th victory of the season.

Gauff has taken a much more chaotic route. A win over Valentová 6-3 6-4, a win over Sierra 5-7 6-0 6-4, a win over Jovic 5-7 7-5 6-2 after saving a match point, a win over Andreeva yesterday in three sets after again saving a match point at the end of a 2h44 battle. The 2025 finalist is still in it, but she has been pushed to the limit in each of her matches this week; she has never cleanly dominated an opponent since the first round, and she comes into the semi with the heaviest legs in the draw.

In heavy, humid conditions at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow, the ball will be heavier and the rallies slower, which further burdens Gauff’s serve, already shaky in Rome, and gives Cîrstea the construction time she looks for on every point. A first serve that goes in less often in the humidity means more exposed second serves, and with Cîrstea converting 49.0% of her break points in Rome, she knows exactly what to do with those opportunities.