ATP Masters Rome: Dominic Thiem with a good draw, Alexander Zverev blooms quarter-final rematch against Rafael Nadal
Dominic Thiem got a good draw at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome. The Austrian opens against Guido Pella or Marton Fucsovics, and the opponent for the quarter-final is Andrey Rublev. Alexander Zverev could meet Rafael Nadal in the round of the last eight, as in Madrid. But a real stumbling block should be waiting for the Spaniard in lap two.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: May 08, 2021, 12:33 pm
While the last ball has not even been played in Madrid, the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome is already in the starting blocks. The draw took place in the Italian capital on Saturday and this gave the Austrian Dominic Thiem a very feasible path in view of the great field of participants.
The 27-year-old, who like all eight top-seated players has a bye in the first round, will open against the weak Guido Pella or Marton Fucsovics. The first set opponent could be Gael Monfils, Alex de Minaur and Lorenzo Sonego are also potential third-round opponents of the reigning US Open champion.
Upper half: Djokovic with a difficult draw
The first real stumbling block will probably only wait in the quarter-finals. Thiem could face Andrey Rublev, who recently weakened a bit in Madrid and Barcelona, or Roberto Bautista Agut. In addition, there could also be a quarter-final duel with Jan-Lennard Struff, who will play against a qualifier in round one and then meet Rublev. Possible semi-final opponent Thiems is Novak Djokovic.
The world number one got an extremely unpleasant draw. The Serb could meet Dan Evans, who defeated him in Monte Carlo, in the second round. To do this, the Briton would first have to win against Taylor Fritz. First opponent in the round of 16 could be Grigor Dimitrov, then Stefanos Tsitsipas would wait according to the seeding list in the quarterfinals. The Greek, for his part, opens against Alexander Bublik or Marin Cilic.
Lower half: Nadal threatens a second round duel with Sinner
Not much easier than Novak Djokovic's path is that of Rafael Nadal, who is in second place. The Spaniard meets Jannik Sinner or Ugo Humbert at the start, after which he will most likely face the winner of the first-round hit between Denis Shapovalov and Casper Ruud.
In the quarter-finals, as in Madrid, there could be a clash with Alexander Zverev. But the German didn't get a good draw in Rome either: After an opening duel with Adrian Mannarino or a qualifier, Kei Nishikori, Fabio Fognini and Pablo Carreno Busta are possible opponents of the 24-year-old.
Daniil Medvedev also landed in the lower half of the table. The Russian, who would play against Diego Schwartzman in the quarter-finals according to the seed list, could already play against compatriot Aslan Karatsev at the beginning. To do this, he would first have to defeat Miomir Kecmanovic.
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