The third round begins on Day 5 of the ATP Rome Masters. The tournament is really heating up after some early upsets. As always, we here at LWOT predict all of the matches–split between this and a separate article. Who do you think will win on Sunday?
ATP Rome Day 5 Predictions
Alexei Popyrin vs Roman Safiullin
Safiullin has two somewhat impressive wins over Americans to start off this event, but neither compares to the impressive performance from Popyrin on Friday that involved knocking off Felix Auger-Aliassime. It was somewhat of a “finally!” moment for the Australian, who has been capable of a breakthrough for years but never quite shown it. We’re backing him until his game drops off.
Prediction: Popyrin in 2
Laslo Djere vs Cristian Garin
Garin loves the clay, and he’s finally putting together the potential he showed years ago. Djere looks solid this year, but Garin is playing so much better this week.
Prediction: Garin in 2
Francisco Cerundolo vs Gregoire Barrere
Neither one of these men has done much recently to inspire too much confidence. Both are playing relatively well, though neither is amazing. Cerundolo is the better player on average, but it’s really hard to count on him much at the moment. Still, it’s better than nothing.
Prediction: Cerundolo in 3
Novak Djokovic vs Grigor Dimitrov
Once upon a time, this would have been a mouth-watering matchup. In a third round at a Masters? Unheard-of. But Dimitrov has fallen off the radar recently, though he still shows flashes of his old brilliance. Then again, Djokovic hasn’t been his brilliant self since the Australian Open. The Serb can flip things around at the drop of a hat, though, so it’s foolish to pick against him.
Prediction: Djokovic in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
