TENNIS Master 1000 Rome -The Draw ceremony of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia took place today in Rome in the splendid backdrop of the Campidoglio. Diego Sampaolo
Defending champion Rafa Nadal will be chasing his ninth Rome title after winning in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Nadal reached the Madrid final after two quarter final exits in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona and is reaching top form ahead of Rome and the Roland Garros.
Nadal will play against either Frenchman Jeremy Chardy or Italian wild-card Filippo Volandri before a possible third round match against either Mikhail Youzhny or Fernando Verdasco. Nadal has been drawn in the same quarter as Andy Murray who will face a tough second round match against Feliciano Lopez or Marcel Granollers before a possible clash against either John Isner or Marin Cilic en route to a possible quarter final against Nadal.
Stan Wawrinka, who won his first Master 1000 title on clay in Monte-Carlo, will open against either Paolo Lorenzi or a qualifier in the second round in the second quarter of the draw The Lausanne player will be looking to bounce back from his surprising defeat against Dominic Thiem in Madrid. He could face either Andreas Seppi in a re-match of the fantastic third round match won by the Italian player at the Campo Pietrangeli in 2012 or Tommy Haas before meeting Tomas Berdych in a possible quarter final
Novak Djokovic, winner in the Foro Italico in 2008 and 2011, will make his return after being forced to withdraw from Madrid because of a wrist injury.
Djokovic will start his campaign against either Pablo Andujar or Radek Stepanek in the second round before playing against the winner of the match between Jerzy Janowicz and Tommy Robredo. His possible quarter final rival could be David Ferrer, who reached the semifinals in Monte-Carlo and Madrid.
Djokovic could face the winner of the third round match between David Ferrer and Kei Nishikori who could meet for the second time in just a few days. It could be a blockbuster re-match of today’s Madrid semifinal won by Nishikori who won his first clay title in Barcelona at the end of April. Nishikori, the first Japanese player to reach the top-10, will first have to overcome a tough second round match against Ernests Gulbis
He could face Roger Federer in a potential blockbuster semifinal against Roger Federer but there is a question mark on the Swiss legend who will take a last-minute decision whether to play in the Eternal city or not following the birth of twin children Leo and Lenny. Federer has been drawn to play against eitherRobin Haase or Jeremy Chardy in the second round before facing Fabio Fognini in a possible third round match and a potential quarter final clash against Milos Raonic. The young Canadian coached by Ivan Ljubicic will face a tough third round match against Kevin Anderson, Jo Wilfred Tsonga or Alexander Dolgopolov.
