It’s a thrilling day of men’s singles action ahead in Rome at the 2024 ATP Italian Open with all the fourth-round matches played on the same day. Defending champion Daniil Medvedev was in real trouble against Hamad Medjedovic on Monday, but survived to keep himself in the event. Now he takes on Tommy Paul; who do you think will make the quarterfinals?
ATP Rome Day 7 Predictions
Taylor Fritz vs Grigor Dimitrov
Head-to-head: 1-1
Grigor Dimitrov lost in the second round at Madrid but it was to the uber-talented Jakub Mensik and now the Bulgarian is back to his consistent self with another deep run. Taylor Fritz is regarded as a small favorite here, but is that actually correct? They’ve played twice thus far (both on clay) in much faster conditions of Geneva and Madrid and these matches were very tight. In Rome, it feels like Dimitrov could probably neutralize the Fritz offense with his slice and win the long game.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3
Alexander Zverev vs Nuno Borges
Head-to-head: First meeting
Nuno Borges has posted incredible wins over Pedro Martinez and Francesco Passaro this event already, but their value was mostly in how dramatic they were. Not that the quality wasn’t high, it’s just that beating someone like Alexander Zverev would be a different level and something the Portuguese hasn’t really done in his career yet. He’ll likely come up short with the 2017 champion being well-rested and having a pretty steady, high-floor game.
Prediction: Zverev in 2
Hubert Hurkacz vs Sebastian Baez
Head-to-head: First meeting
This clay season has been so good from Hubert Hurkacz with his only losses coming at the hands of Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud. Rome is an event that hasn’t suited him in the past with no wins in the last three editions, but even here he’s performing very well at the moment. He’s been blasting through high-ball forehands like never before and outlasted Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the previous round. Sebastian Baez might be a similar matchup stylistically, he can probably do it again.
Prediction: Hurkacz in 2
Tommy Paul vs Daniil Medvedev
Head-to-head: Medvedev 3-0
It’s a well-known fact that Daniil Medvedev has never defended a title–he hasn’t even won twice at the same venue. Doing that in Rome, where no one expected him to come out the victor last year, would be pretty crazy. The Russian remains in the tournament for now, barely outlasting Hamad Medjedovic on Monday. His last match against Tommy Paul in slow conditions was extremely tricky. But with both players not liking the clay too much, maybe Medvedev can actually keep going?
Prediction: Medvedev in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
