French Open quarterfinals live stream (Photo : Getty Images)
For the second straight clay-court tournament, world's no.1 Novak Djokovic will be taking on world's no.2 Andy Murray for the top prize. The 2016 Rome Masters final will feature arguably the top-2 best netters in the world in a match that could decide who has the momentum entering Roland Garros.
Meanwhile, it's going to be an All-American confrontation in the women's singles finals as 21-year old Madison Keys faces top-ranked Serena Williams.
Djokovic vs. Murray at 11:00 a.m US ET: ESPN Watch, Sports Stream / Scores at Pro Tennis Live
What's at stake: After surviving two tough matches against Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori, Djokovic now finds himself a win away to capturing a record-setting 30th ATP Masters 1000 title. But once again standing on his way is Murray, who is also playing spectacular tennis on clay the past four weeks.
Murray, who just parted ways with clay-court expert Amelie Mauresmo, continues to showcase excellent form on clay - which gave a lot of troubles and heartaches earlier his career. With Murray steadily realizing his clay-court potential, it would be interesting to know if the Briton can further elevate his game and become a legit threat to Djokovic not only in this tournament, but for the upcoming battles at the French Open.
Prediction & Predicted Winner: Despite not playing up to his full potential, Djokovic was still able to find ways to win under extreme duress. He demonstrated his rock solid mental toughness both against Nadal in the quarterfinals and Nishikori in the semis.
There's no doubt that he's going to be the favorite in the finals against Murray, yet the Briton is playing much better tennis. In a tightly contested match, my bet will be on Djokovic to win it all. However, I have a feeling that Murray will be firing from all cylinders from the get-go, catching the Serb by surprise and in the process beating him in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
Williams vs. Keys at 8:00 a.m US ET: Live Stream @ ESPN Watch, Sports Stream / Scores @ Pro Tennis Live
What's on the line: No bad stomach would derail Williams' plan from punching her ticket to the finals of the Italian Open. The world's no.1 tennis player soundly defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova and Irina-Camelia Begu to put herself a win away from a third Italian Open in four years and fourth overall. Meanwhile, Keys has been smoking hot in this tourney. On Saturday, the 21-year old American defeated world's no.4 Gabine Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain to arrange a rare All-American final on clay-court.
Prediction: Keys has achieved a lot during her current run. Unfortunately, I see her falling to Williams in straight sets in the final. Williams, gunning for his 22nd Grand Slam at the French, knows a victory in Rome would swing the momentum to her despite skipping majority of the clay-court tourney.
