Madrid champion Novak Djokovic will clash with young Canadian Denis Shapovalov in his opening match in Rome. Fellow Madrid finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas kicks off his campaign against even younger Italian wild card Jannick Sinner.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. Denis Shapovalov
After a lackluster spring season, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic came roaring back with his first clay court title of 2019 in Madrid last week. The Serb was impressive in his defeat of Stefanos Tsitsipas. Djokovic began the year with a dominant run to the title of the Australian Open, but faltered in Indian Wells and Miami, losing early in upset wins to Philipp Kohlschreiber and Roberto Bautista Agut respectively.
Denis Shapovalov had a good run on hard courts, particularly in Miami where he finally lost to Roger Federer in the semifinals. The Canadian NextGen star hasn’t fared as well on clay. In fact, until this week, he hadn’t won a single match on the dirt in three tries. For him to run into Djokovic so early in the tournament is a spot of bad luck.
It’s doubtful Shapovalov will be able to hang with Djokovic on clay. He was able to take a set from the world No. 1 this year in Melbourne, but Djokovic is nearly as good on clay as he is on the slow hard courts of the Australian Open. And his clay game isn’t exactly Shapovalov’s strong suit.
Cheryl pick: Djokovic in 2
Ricky pick: Djokovic in 2
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(8) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Jannick Sinner
It’s a rare thing for Stefanos Tsitsipas to play someone younger than he, but on Wednesday, the Madrid finalist will take on 17 year-old Jannick Sinner, who stunned Steve Johnson in the first round. The shock wasn’t necessarily that Sinner is 17, but more that he is ranked 263 in the world and generally finds himself competing on the Futures tour. A generous wildcard for the Italian into the Rome event handed young Sinner a golden opportunity.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has had an impressive couple of weeks. The Greek won his first clay court title in Estoril, then followed that up with a run to the final in Madrid, during which he beat Rafael Nadal before going down to Novak Djokovic. Certainly, there is the real possibility that Tsitsipas is fatigued, but it’s hard to imagine the Greek allowing Sinner another opportunity for an upset.
Cheryl pick: Tsitsipas in 2
Ricky pick: Tsitsipas in 2
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With some Federer fans , its a case of he won in spite of his age, he loses its because of his age, theres the difference, one gets credit no matter what, and the other gets no credit no matter what ….
Well said vmk1, Sanju, and Alison! 👍
Some Nadal fans are guilty of the same thing.No credit to his opponent,always loses because….
Just saying.
All I know is that I’m going to be stunned stupid if Fed beats Stefanos, then beats Rafa or Verdasco; goes on to beat Nole and and wins Rome. It’s just not right. It would be out of the realm of reality to my mind.
Tsitsipas silenced the crowd vs Fogna. And it makes me wonder, even with how well Stefanos played, if Fogna was putting it all on the court to win his home masters 1000. Pleased with the outcome as I am – it makes me feel like Fogna should win if it’s a best of five.
And Diego Schwartzman should beat Kei Nishikori. It was all Kei could do to beat Struff. But there it is: the bookies favor Kei. Poor Kei is what I say – but at least he’ll be playing someone his own size.
Rafa better beat Verdasco is all I’ll say about that one too. And Nole vs Delpo? Well, Delpo winning would be nothing short of miraculous. I suppose stranger things have happened.
Kyrios in those links vmk1 posted? Omg, what a bunch of baloney Naughty Nick spouts. I confess forgetting what a Fed fan Nick is. That’s just pathetic. But I stand by what I’ve said…he makes me laugh. The thought of him up against Nole or Rafa and winning also makes me laugh. Kyrgios, had no sane option but lose strangely and embarrassingly to Ruud. He had to get out of town after that show.
Anyway I love tennis. And will stay tuned, keeping in mind that FO is a different beast and thank the gods that tennis at the GS level still requires a best of five endeavor.
Just wish they’d make it best of five for WTA players as well. And I don’t expect anyone go agree with me on that. hahaha…
I’m nobody, but I agree with you re Bo5 slams for the women. I’ve always thought that – and I mean, like since Chris Evert was a child. 🙂 As it is, slams are actually easier for the women since they get a day’s rest between most of their matches. But we’ll never see it, alas. I just hope the men don’t go to Bo3! Masters finals used to be Bo5, which made for MUCH better finals. Now even Davis Cup is Bo3. Say goodbye to the great DC matches we used to see.
Oh I just heard that Fed has withdrawn so Tsitsipas is into the SF!
I hope Rafa can beat Verdasco quickly and be ready for Tsitsipas. Tsitispas is playing some good tennis here; he’s calm and composed even when facing Foggy and the whole arena of Italian fans cheering against him.
Very good for Tsitsipas 🙂
Terrible to think of Verdasco beating Rafa! NO. Rafa vs Tsitsipas SF.
Vamos Rafa!
Fed pulled out of Rome due to a “right leg injury”. Hope it’s not too serious!
Do you think it’s the knee? Or just general fatigue? I kind of assumed the latter, maybe cramps.
Big Al i know, but i aint one of them just saying ….
Big Al i know but i aint one of them just saying ….
Yeah, whats the point of making excuses.
No one is hating on Nadal; certainly not me. What I think happens here is that people can’t accept that the past is the past, and this is a new Nadal. So far, he simply hasn’t been (nearly) as good as in the past, which is why I sometimes pick against him. That’s not hating.
Meanwhile, Fed has been playing superb tennis, much better than what anyone expected. It’s not surprise that he couldn’t take the court against Tsitsipas, at his age. Similar to why Verdasco couldn’t sustain the level he started with against Nadal.
But just as Elisabeth says she would be ‘stunned stupid’ if Fed had run the table in Rome, and thinks it would be a shame if Verdasco had beaten Nadal (“NO”), some of us feel just the opposite. So what? I’m not here saying that you guys hate Fed, or Verdasco, or whatever. Just accept that some fans cheer for the other side, that’s all. As Ricky has said before, this is a tennis forum, not a Nadal fan site.
Well said Joe. The older these players get , the more likely they will have unexpected losses/ wins. Nothing to do with past rivalries/H2H’s.