ATP Masters Rome: Thiem opens against Fognini, Zverev threatens quarter-final duel against Alcaraz
Dominic Thiem meets Fabio Fognini in the first round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome. Alexander Zverev could face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: May 06, 2022, 07:46 pm
Tough lot for Dominic Thiem at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome: The Austrian meets local hero Fabio Fognini at the start of the clay court classic. Thiem leads 3-1 in a direct comparison with the Italian, but Fognini has managed the only win so far in the Foro Italico (second round 2018).
Should Thiem celebrate his first win since returning to the tour, he would face Jannik Sinner or Pedro Martinez in round two. Possible round of 16 opponent of the 2020 US Open winner is Andrey Rublev.
Djokovic and Nadal in the upper half
Alexander Zverev, who, like Thiem, is in the lower half, opens after a bye against a qualifier. The first seeded opponent could be Roberto Bautista Agut, in the quarterfinals there is a risk of a duel with Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard will play his first match against Francesco Passaro or Cristian Garin.
Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, ended up in the top half and could therefore already meet the top seeded Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. Nadal opens against John Isner or a qualifier, Djokovic against Lloyd Harris or Aslan Karatsev.