The street to Roland Garros continues this fortnight with the third of three clay-court Masters 1000 occasions. Rafael Nadal stays sidelined, however the Internazionali BNL d’Italia area is stronger than what was on show in each Monte-Carlo and Madrid. Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner are again in motion after skipping the second Masters match, whereas Carlos Alcaraz is ready to make his Rome debut.
Principal-draw competitors will get underway on Wednesday, so it’s time to interrupt down what’s at all times the most effective tournaments on the annual tennis calendar.
Internazionali BNL d’Italia
The place: Rome, Italy
Floor: Clay
Factors: 1000
Prize cash: 7,705,780 Euros
High seed: Carlos Alcaraz
Defending champion: Novak Djokovic
Draw evaluation: Though the draw is comparatively balanced with Djokovic, Sinner, and Holger Rune within the high half whereas Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas on the opposite facet, there’s one apparent part that’s the deepest and the hardest. Daniil Medvedev’s quarter additionally contains Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz, Hubert Hurkacz, Alexander Zverev, Roberto Bautista Agut, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Emil Ruusuvuori. Rublev and Fritz are in particularly sturdy type, so Medvedev—whose clay-court struggles are nicely documented—might not final lengthy in Rome. In actual fact, the No. 3 seed may exit instantly by the hands of Ruusuvuori.
Elsewhere within the backside half of the bracket, Alcaraz is enjoying in Rome for the primary time. The Spaniard withdrew final yr after profitable Madrid, however in 2023 it appears like he is able to comply with up one other Madrid title with participation in Rome. It is smart, too, since Madrid and Rome at the moment are 12-day occasions so gamers aren’t taking to the match courtroom each single day. Alcaraz may run into Jiri Lehecka within the third spherical, Borna Coric within the final 16, and both Tsitsipas or Lorenzo Musetti within the quarterfinals.
Djokovic is prone to face both Grigor Dimitrov or Stan Wawrinka within the spherical of 32 earlier than presumably getting Rune within the quarters. Casper Ruud is the top-ranked Serb’s projected semifinal foe primarily based on seeding, however primarily based on present type a showdown with Sinner is a much more probably state of affairs for Djokovic.
First-round matchups to observe are Wawrinka vs. Ilya Ivashka, Ruusuvuori vs. Ugo Humbert, Andy Murray vs. Fabio Fognini, and Richard Gasquet vs. Yibing Wu. Murray is coming off a Challenger title in Aix-en-Provence.
Scorching: Carlos Alcaraz, Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz, Karen Khachanov, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Tallon Griekspoor, Bernabe Zapata Miralles, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Luca Van Assche, Quentin Halys, Dusan Lajovic
Chilly: Novak Djokovic, Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Sebastian Korda, Fabio Fognini, Arthur Rinderknech, Alexander Bublik, Brandon Nakashima, David Goffin, Jeremy Chardy, Diego Schwartzman, Corentin Moutet
Quarterfinal predictions: Novak Djokovic over Miomir Kecmanovic, Jannik Sinner over Cristian Garin, Taylor Fritz over Emil Ruusuvuori, and Carlos Alcaraz over Frances Tiafoe
Semifinals: Sinner over Djokovic and Alcaraz over Fritz
Closing: Sinner over Alcaraz
