The main draw of the Italian Open gets underway in Rome on Wednesday. As it is the last tournament before the French Open, a lot of players will use it as a preparation for the Major at Roland Garros. The eyes will be on Carlos Alcaraz, quite understandably, after his triumph at the Madrid Open recently.
10-time champion Rafael Nadal has already withdrawn from the tournament owing to a persistent injury and remains doubtful for the French Open as well. However, the likes of Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, who did not play in the Madrid Open, will feature at the Italian Open.
The three favorites for the tournament are:
#1. Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz can do no wrong on a tennis court at the moment. He won his fourth Masters 1000 title last Sunday in Madrid, dropping only two sets in the process. He thus defended his second successive title on clay after having done the same in Barcelona in April.
His powerful serve, quality drop shots, and formidable groundstrokes are the ingredients of a superstar in the making. The 20-year-old has Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev in his halt of the draw. While both of those Russians are good players, they seem unlikely at the moment to be able to stop the Spaniard’s great run.
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#2. Novak Djokovic
Djokovic seems to be on the wane at the moment, having lost early in each of his last two tournaments on clay to Lorenzo Musetti and Dusan Lajovic, respectively. However, the soon-to-be 36-year-old counts the Italian Open as one of his favorite tournaments and has won it five times.
At this age, however, fitness is a concern for the Serbian great. Still, he should have enough left in his tank to make it to the last four in Rome at least. He has Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune on his side of the draw.
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#3. Jannik Sinner
Actually, it is difficult to imagine anyone other than Carlos Alcaraz and Djokovic winning the title, but Jan-Lennard Struff has shown recently what a less-fancied player can do.
Sinner did not play in Madrid, so he should be quite fresh for the tournament on his home soil. He made it to the final of the Miami Open a couple of months back and has a good record against Alcaraz.
Sinner can hit well off either wing and his movement is also quite good. However, he will have to improve his mental resilience to start winning big titles.
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
