Back-to-back Masters events is not ideal in my opinion, but nonetheless, we head to Rome. After a Madrid event with a number of high-profile injuries, the Rome tournament has lost some star power. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will both miss out, but apart from those two, the rest of the top seeds will be there, so plenty of good tennis ahead. Here’s a quick preview of the ATP Rome Masters.
Novak Djokovic hasn’t played since Monte-Carlo, but to me it feels like he’s focusing on Roland Garros, and Rome will be a perfect tune up. His first match will be against Corantin Moutet, or Roman Safiullin, both of which he should dispatch comfortably. He may get challenged in the 4th round against Karen Khachanov, who rarely puts in a bad performance.
Should Novak get through to the quarters, it is likely he’ll run into Casper Ruud, who is having an outstanding year. For me, Casper is one of the favourites for the French, and I’d love to see him take on Novak this week.
Thiago Monteiro could be the dangerous qualifier in the field. After knocking over Stefanos Tsitsipas in Madrid, he’ll take on Gael Monfils, then Jordan Thompson, before a possible match up with Ruud.
Speaking of Stefanos, he’s had a week or so rest after bowing out of Madrid early, which might be just what he needed. If he is to get through to finals weekend, he’ll have to navigate a tricky section. His first round will probably be against Munich champion, Jan-Lennard Struff, before possibly, Cameron Norrie, Alex De Minaur, and Andrey Rublev in the quarters.
Argentinian Diego Schwartzman has announced he’ll be retiring after Buenos Aires, but he has qualified here, and will take on Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic, for a place in the second round against Alexander Zverev. The German hasn’t been in great form, and a third round match against in-form Argentine, Mariano Navone, or Denis Shapavalov might be a ‘banana peel’ match. Taylor Fritz and Grigor Dimitrov also lurk in the same section, and neither of those two often lose out of turn.
I’m looking forward to see if Matteo Berrettini can find some form on home soil. He’ll open his account against another Italian, Stefano Napolitano, before Ugo Humbert awaits in round two. This could be an opportunity for Matteo to make a run, as Ugo can be a bit hit and miss.
There’s another nice first round clash between Czech, Tomas Machac, and Italian Matteo Arnaldi. Both young players have shown some excellent form (although Arnaldi hasn’t quite hit the highs of last year), and they actually met in Miami, with the Czech winning in straight sets.
Andrey Rublev will obviously be full of confidence after winning Madrid, and if he’s snapped his run of bad form, I would expect him to get back to making quarter finals and semi-finals at least.
Both Hubert Hurkacz and Holger Rune would be looking to string some wins together. This is especially so for Rune, who has really struggled with consistency this year. He’s too good a talent to be down for too long, and I fully expect he’ll switch on at some stage. This could be the week, which would really make Roland Garros interesting if he finds form. Hurkacz could find himself taking on Rafa Nadal in round two however. The Spaniard is on another leg of his farewell tour, and this time his first round opponent is Belgian Zizou Bergs. A match-up against Hurkacz would be another nice test for Rafa before Roland Garros.
At the bottom of the draw, Daniil Medvedev, who retired last week in the quarter-finals, will be hoping his body holds up in the lead up to Paris. His draw looks quite favourable in the opening rounds, and if he stays fit, he could be a chance of getting through to the semi finals.
Predictions:
Semi-finals:
Ruud v Dimitrov
Tsitsipas v Rune
For a preview of the women’s draw, click here.
