Monday in Rome: Who will survive the fourth-round gauntlet?

While there was some surprising carnage in the bottom half of the draw on Saturday -- three of the Top 5 seeds went down -- the top-half favorites are doing just fine, thank you.

On Sunday, the Top 8-seeded players -- No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 4 Coco Gauff, No. 7 Mirra Andreeva and No. 8 Zheng Qinwen -- all wafted their way into Monday’s Round of 16 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Slightly below the radar, a pair of former US Open champions who have battled injury and illness -- Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu -- are also lurking.

No. 6 Jasmine Paolini was the only projected quarterfinalist to advance to the fourth round in the bottom half of the draw. But take heart, for there is this unseeded bonus matchup: Peyton Stearns meets four-time Grand Slam singles champion Naomi Osaka.

Here is a snapshot of all eight Round of 16 matches to be played Monday in Rome:

Top Half

No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. Marta Kostyuk

Head-to-head: 3-0, Sabalenka. But the most recent match, a few weeks ago in the Madrid quarterfinals, was a fierce battle going to Sabalenka 7-6(4), 7-6(7).

She’s never won the title here in Rome, but Sabalenka’s path is clearer after some high-profile third-round upsets. Sabalenka came back to defeat No. 31 Sofia Kenin 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, while Kostyuk was a 6-4, 6-2 winner over No. 24 Leylah Fernandez.

No. 4 Coco Gauff vs. Emma Raducanu

Head-to-head: 1-0, Gauff, in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open, 6-3, 7-6(4).

This meeting of former US Open champions might be the most anticipated match in Monday’s stellar lineup. Gauff was a 7-5, 6-3 winner over No. 32 Magda Linette and Raducanu defeated Veronika Kudermetova 5-7, 6-0, 6-1.

No. 7 Mirra Andreeva vs. No. 22 Clara Tauson

Head-to-head: Andreeva, 2-0.

This will be the third meeting between these two this year -- and a rematch of the Dubai final. Andreeva won that one 7-6(1), 6-1 and followed it up with a round-of-32 win on the way to the title in Indian Wells.

Andreeva sent home No. 30 Linda Noskova 6-1, 7-5, while Tauson came back to defeat No. 10 Emma Navarro 3-6, 6-0, 6-4.

No. 8 Zheng Qinwen vs. Bianca Andreescu

Head-to-head: Zheng, 1-0, a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 victory three years ago in Toronto.

Zheng had only played 16 matches coming into Rome, but her level has been on the rebound lately. With a win over Andreescu she’ll reach her third quarterfinal in the past four WTA 1000s. Zheng handled No. 26 Magdalena Frech 6-3, 6-2. Meanwhile, Andreescu upset No. 11 Elena Rybakina 6-2, 6-4.

Bottom Half

No. 6 Jasmine Paolini vs. No. 17 Jelena Ostapenko

Head-to-head: 2-1, Ostapenko, including their most recent meeting, a 6-2, 6-2 win in the third round of this year’s Doha tournament.

This is welcome uncharted territory for Paolini, the Italian favorite. She’d never been this far in Rome before, but a convincing 6-4, 6-3 victory over Ons Jabeur has her a win away from the quarterfinals. Ostapenko, meanwhile, advanced via a walkover when lucky loser Laura Siegemund withdrew with a leg injury.

No. 13 Diana Shnaider vs. No. 25 Elise Mertens

Head-to-head: 2-0, Mertens, most recently in the 2025 Stuttgart round of 16 -- on red clay -- by a 6-2, 7-6(5) count.

Mertens upset No. 3 Jessica Pegula, 7-5, 6-1 on Saturday evening, while Shnaider was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Jaqueline Cristian. Coached in Madrid by former World No. 1 Dinara Safina, Shnaider advanced to the Round of 16 there before falling to Iga Swiatek. According to Shnaider, the two have parted ways after Safina did not make the trip to Rome. 

No. 16 Elina Svitolina vs. No. 29 Danielle Collins

Head-to-head: 2-1, Collins -- but Svitolina won their most recent match back in March, 6-2, 6-4 in the Round of 32 at Indian Wells.

Svitolina has been terrific on clay so far this season, winning 13 of 14 matches. She was a titlist in Rouen, France and advanced to the semifinals in Madrid before falling to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka. Svitolina defeated qualifier Hailey Baptiste. 

Naomi Osaka vs. Peyton Stearns

Head-to-head: 0-0.

One of Osaka’s best matches last year was a loss to eventual champion Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros. Perhaps it was a premonition, as Osaka has now won eight straight matches on clay, following her WTA 125 title in Saint Malo -- the first of her career on clay. The latest was a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Marie Bouzkova. Stearns, with new coach Blaz Kavcic on her team, came back to knock out No. 5 seed and fellow American Madison Keys 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(3).