Rome R2 previews and predictions: Fritz vs. Fognini, Korda vs. Cobolli

Round two of the Rome Masters begins on Friday and there are a couple of United States vs. Italy showdowns on the schedule. Taylor Fritz faces Fabio Fognini, while Sebastian Korda goes up against Flavio Cobolli.

(11) Taylor Fritz vs. (WC) Fabio Fognini

Fognini is presumably making his final appearance at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and it is off to a good start. The 36-year-old Italian’s first-round match against Dan Evans was pushed back to Thursday night because of rain and it was a predictably entertaining affair that went Fognini’s way via a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 decision. That marked Fognini’s fourth ATP-level victory of the season, which includes a quarterfinal run as a qualifier in Marrakech at the beginning of this clay-court swing.

Taylor Fritz awaits Fognini on Friday for what will be the third meeting. The head-to-head series is tied up at 1-1, with Fognini prevailing 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-3 at the 2018 Chengdu event before Fritz got the job done 6-1, 7-6(1) a year later in Los Cabos. Fritz is quietly effective on clay and is playing stellar tennis this spring, highlighted by a runner-up performance in Munich and a semifinal showing at the Madrid Masters. It’s unlikely against a tough opponent like Fritz that home-court advantage can save Fognini, who is coming off a difficult three-setter and was already dealing with a bit of a calf problem.

Pick: Fritz in 2

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Flavio Cobolli vs. (24) Sebastian Korda

Cobolli is also hoping to inject some life into the Foro Italico, which is especially important for the host nation since Jannik Sinner is sidelined by a hip injury. The 21-year-old has been one of the tour’s new arrivals in 2024, with 12 of his 18 lifetime main-tour match wins taking him up to No. 57 in the rankings. Cobolli posted a pair of top-40 victories en route to the Madrid third round and he opened in Rome by beating Maximilian Marterer 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday.

Up first for Cobolli on Friday is Korda, whom the Italian has never faced. The 23-year-old American is the favorite on paper at 27th in the rankings, but he has been in mediocre form in recent months–and perhaps even years. Korda is 11-10 overall this season and 2-3 on clay, which includes a bad clay-court loss to Gregoire Barerre in Bucharest and only three games won against Jannik Sinner in the Monte-Carlo second round. Even though the 24th seed is pretty good on clay, this is a great opportunity for an in-form Cobolli playing in front of the Italian crowd.

Pick: Cobolli in 3

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