The favorites to win this event will play their first singles matches on a busy Wednesday in Rome.
For defending champion Rafael Nadal, this will be his first match in over six months, against a fellow Spaniard who reached the semifinals of last week’s US Open. And this is the first time we see Novak Djokovic on court since he was defaulted two Sundays ago for hitting a lineswoman in the throat with the tennis ball. On the women’s side, top seed Simona Halep arrives on a nine-match winning streak. She was the champion in Dubai back in February and in Prague last month. Simona is joined today by recent Rome champions Karolina Pliskova and Elina Svitolina. But the day’s most marquee women’s matchup features the US Open runner-up against the last player to beat her prior to that run in New York.
Victoria Azarenka (SE) vs. Venus Williams (WC)
Last month in Lexington, Williams comfortably defeated Azarenka 6-3, 6-2. It was right after that loss Vika went on her 11-match win streak, becoming the champion of the Western & Southern Open and a US Open finalist. By contrast, Venus is 0-3 since beating Azarenka, though her three losses have come against top 30 players. Neither woman would describe clay as their favorite surface, but Vika reached the quarterfinals here last year, with impressive victories over Elina Svitolina and Garbine Muguruza. By contrast, Williams is just 2-5 on clay over the last three years. However, Venus has the 6-2 edge in their head-to-head. That includes their two most recent meetings, though Azarenka claimed their only match on clay. Even though it was only four days ago she played her first Major final in seven years, Vika’s confidence level should be enough to get her through this tough opening round.
Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Pablo Carreno Busta
There has been much speculation regarding Rafael Nadal leading into his first match since the 29th of February. He and his team have spoken openly of how affected he has been by the pandemic, which caused him to opt out of traveling to New York to defend his US Open title. And in his return to professional tennis, Nadal faces a man who just five days ago reached his second Major semifinal. But this is a matchup that significantly favors Nadal. He is 5-0 against Carreno Busta, with Pablo securing only one of 11 sets completed. Rafa also has a history of dominating his fellow Spaniards. And Pablo is not your typical Spaniard who excels on the red clay. He actually went just 7-9 on this surface last season. But it will be intriguing to see how Nadal performs today coming off such a long layoff. It’s been a challenging six months for everyone, with Rafa seemingly more impacted than other players. And while Nadal is easily the best clay court player of all-time, he’s also a player who is at his best when he’s match tough. He will be eager to gain some significant court time over the next week in Rome.
Other Notable Matches on Day 3:
Four-time champion Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Salvatore Caruso (WC), a 27-year-old Italian who came back to defeat Tennys Sandgren yesterday in a final set tiebreak.
In a match between the two most recent ATP Next Gen Finals champions, Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) vs. Jannick Sinner (WC). This is Tsitsipas’ first match since his epic loss to Borna Coric in New York. Sinner survived the soap opera that was his opening round against Benoit Paire two days ago.
Two-time champion Elina Svitolina (4) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Anastasia leads their head-to-head 3-1, though they’ve never played on clay.
Two-time finalist Simona Halep (1) vs. Jasmine Paolini (WC), who upset Anastasija Sevastova in the first round.
Defending champion Karolina Pliskova (2) vs. Barbora Strycova. Pliskova is 4-1 against her fellow Czech.
David Goffin (6) vs. Marin Cilic. Goffin is 4-3 lifetime against Cilic, though Marin prevailed when they met in Rome three years ago.
Italian No.1 Matteo Berrettini (4) vs. Federico Coria (Q), an 18-year-old Argentine who came through qualifying and already has four match wins this past week.
Full order of play is here.
