Mere hours after the US Open concluded, a combined ATP Masters 1,000/WTA Premier event begins in Rome.
The men who contested yesterday’s epic yet excruciating championship match will not be making the trip to Italy. Neither will Daniil Medvedev, Roberto Bautista Agut, or an injured Roger Federer Otherwise, the other 15 players in the ATP’s top 20 are present, including nine-time champion Rafael Nadal and four-time champion Novak Djokovic.
The women’s world No.1, Ash Barty, has declined to travel from Australia for this event as well as the French Open due to the pandemic. She’s joined on the sidelines this week by US Open champion Naomi Osaka, last year’s US Open champ Bianca Andreescu, and an injured Serena Williams. But the rest of the WTA top 10 is here, including defending champion Karolina Pliskova and two-time champion Elina Svitolina.
With Roland Garros just 13 days, which players will gain crucial momentum on the red clay over the next eight days in Rome?
Benoit Paire vs. Jannick Sinner (WC).
This will be Paire’s first match since his removal from the US Open due to a positive test for COVID-19. That occurred a week after he retired during his opening round of the Western & Southern Open, feeling ill. Sinner, a 19-year-old Italian, was a crowd favorite here a year ago. Then ranked 263rd in the world, he thrilled the fans on Court Centrale by coming back from a set down to upset Steve Johnson. Six months later, Sinner would achieve further glory on home soil, winning the ATP Next Gen event in Milan. Two weeks ago, he was up two sets on Karen Khachanov at the US Open, but failed to close out the match, with his body giving out. These two met earlier this year on a hard court in Auckland, where Paire prevailed in three. Predicting Paire’s performances is a risky business. Hopefully he’ll be fully healthy today, and perhaps he’ll be motivated coming off the controversy surrounding him in New York. But Sinner will certainly be inspired to play well at his country’s biggest event. Paired with his strong ground game, that may be enough for Jannick to earn the victory. The winner will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the next round.
Elise Mertens (11) vs. Su-Wei Hsieh
This match will be an indication of how players who excelled in New York will perform in Italy after such a short turnaround. Mertens has been one of the busiest players since the WTA restart last month. The Belgian has won 12 matches during that time, with four wins at each event played (Prague, Western & Southern Open, US Open). By contrast, this is Hsieh’s first match since February. And Su-Wei has yet to win a main draw match this season, with her most recent victory coming last September in Wuhan. While clay is her weakest surface, Hsieh’s unique style of slicing and dicing can throw anyone off their game. Mertens leads their head-to-head 2-1, including a 6-0, 6-2 thrashing in their only match on clay. And with plenty of variety of her own, Elise is the favorite to advance in what should be an entertaining clash.
Other Notable Matches on Day 1:
Cristian Garin (14) vs. Borna Coric. Garin won two clay court titles in February, while Coric is coming off his first Major quarterfinal last week.
Kei Nishikori vs. Alberto Ramos-Vinolas. Kei lost his first match in over a year last week in Kitzbuhel. Nishikori is 4-1 against Ramos-Vinolas.
Elena Rybakina (10) vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova. This is already their third meeting in this abbreviated season, and Alexandrova is 2-0 thus far. And Ekaterina is coming off a comeback win over Kim Clijsters at the US Open.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (16) vs. Filip Krajinovic. Both men played some good tennis the last few weeks in New York. Krajinovic claimed their only previous tour meeting.
Full order of play is here.
