Stearns has quite the clay-court resume early in her career, but she has to be a little worn down after winning three straight matches in third-set tiebreakers.

There will be plenty of feisty athleticism on display, but only one player will have the crowd behind her. The question may be how she handles the support.

Madison Keys, Naomi Osaka and, on Tuesday, Elina Svitolina were all 7-6'd their way out of Rome.