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Nadal, Zverev drawn in same quarter
In his first ATP Masters 1000 appearance since the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, five-time champion Novak Djokovic could face the man who eliminated him from that tournament — Daniel Evans — in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia second round.

The World No. 1, who will be chasing his second straight Rome title, will face the winner of Evans’ first-round clash against Taylor Fritz at the Foro Italico. Evans has shown his best tennis at clay-court Masters 1000 events this season, with runs to the Monte-Carlo semi-finals and the third round in Madrid. Following Djokovic’s loss to the Briton in the Principality last month, the World No. 1 told reporters that Evans had ‘dismantled my game’.

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Djokovic will be competing in Rome for the first time since his run to the 2020 title. The top seed dropped just one set en route to last year’s final, where he defeated Diego Schwartzman in straight sets to capture a record-breaking 36th Masters 1000 crown.

Djokovic will aim to add to his 55-9 record in Rome, just two weeks after his marathon semi-final loss to Aslan Karatsev at the Serbia Open. The 33-year-old shares the top quarter with Monte-Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, Madrid semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini and 16th seed Grigor Dimitrov. Tsitsipas will meet the winner of an exciting first-round match between former World No. 3 Marin Cilic and in-form Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik.


One week after opening his Mutua Madrid Open campaign against #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal could face Italy’s leading #NextGenATP star, Jannik Sinner, in his first match in Rome.

Nadal, who is chasing his 10th trophy in the Italian capital, will begin his title bid against the winner of Sinner’s first-round encounter against Ugo Humbert. Sinner will be aiming to set up a repeat of last year’s Roland Garros quarter-final against Nadal, when he pushed the eventual champion for the opening two sets of their three-set clash on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Humbert will enter his meeting against Sinner with a 1-0 ATP Head2Head advantage. The Frenchman denied the home favourite an unbeaten run to the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals crown in Milan with a four-set win during the round robin stage.

Whether he faces Sinner or Humbert, Nadal’s goal will remain the same. The second seed will be keen to rediscover his best level from the outset in Rome after his straight-sets quarter-final defeat to Alexander Zverev in Madrid. Across 16 appearances at the Foro Italico, Nadal has compiled a 63-7 tournament record.

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Nadal could meet Zverev for the second straight week. The German also features in a packed fourth quarter of the draw, which also includes last year’s Rome semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov, Marbella champion Pablo Carreno Busta and former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori. In two of the standout matches of the first round, Shapovalov will open against Madrid semi-finalist Casper Ruud and Nishikori will battle 2019 Monte-Carlo champion Fabio Fognini.

Fourth seed Dominic Thiem leads the way in the second quarter. The 2017 semi-finalist, who will face Zverev in the Madrid semi-finals on Saturday, will start his sixth Rome appearance against Guido Pella or Marton Fucsovics in the second round. Seventh seed Andrey Rublev, 10th seed Roberto Bautista Agut and 14th seed Gael Monfils also feature in the second quarter. Monfils will be making his first appearance since his Australian Open first-round loss to Emil Ruusuvuori in February.

Third seed Daniil Medvedev and 2020 runner-up Schwartzman are the highest seeds in the third quarter of the draw. Medvedev will meet countryman Karatsev or Miomir Kecmanovic in his tournament opener, while Schwartzman will face Filip Krajinovic or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round. In the same section, Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz will battle #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the first round.