Milos Raonic will kick off his Rome campaign on Monday against Philipp Kohlschreiber. Meanwhile, an all-Italian showdown will take place between Andreas Seppi and Fabio Fognini.
Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. (14) Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic and Philipp Kohlschreiber will be facing each other for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season when they do battle in the first round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday. Raonic won their only previous encounter 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-4 at the Australian Open.
Kohlschreiber is heating up in the aftermath of a Davis Cup leg injury that hampered his hard-court swing earlier this spring. The 22nd-ranked German reached the third round in Monte-Carlo, advanced to the semis in Barcelona, and finished runner-up to countryman Tommy Haas in Munich. Kohlschreiber skipped Madrid last week following that intense stretch of tennis. Raonic has been solid but unspectacular on the slow stuff so far. The 14th-ranked Canadian lost in the Monte-Carlo second round, made his way to the Barcelona semifinals, then lost to Fernando Verdasco in round two of Marid. He has played a third-set tiebreaker in each of his last three tournaments (1-2 record).
In off-the-court news, Raonic just split from coach Galo Blanco. That almost surely won’t be any kind of deciding factor in this match, but it certainly does not help. Kohlschreiber should be able to use the slower surface to his advantage and and play his way into plenty of baseline rallies against an opponent whose groundstrokes have been sub-par at best this year.
Pick: Kohlschreiber in 3
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Fabio Fognini vs. Andreas Seppi
Fognini and Seppi will be squaring off for the second time in their careers at the ATP level and for the second time this season when the two Italians clash at home in the first round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Monday. Seppi leads the head-to-head series 4-2, including 3-2 on clay. They just faced each last month in Monte-Carlo, where Seppi prevailed 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Both men are coming off first-round losses in Madrid, where Seppi got blown out by Tommy Haas and Fognini fell to Mikhail Youzhny in a third-set tiebreaker. Fognini had a 5-4, 40-0 lead with the match on his racket before a complete collapse. These two countrymen are both 14-12 for the season and Seppi registers five spots ahead in the rankings at No. 20 in the world. Fognini is the more impressive shot-maker of the two, but Seppi is steadier and steady usually wins on clay. Furthermore, Seppi is no stranger to success in Rome–he made a memorable run to the quarterfinals just last year.
Pick: Seppi in 3
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