Round one of the Rome Masters continues on Thursday, when Joao Fonseca makes his tournament debut against Fabian Marozsan. An intriguing all-American showdown features Learner Tien and Reilly Opelka.
Fabian Marozsan vs. Joao Fonseca
Like many other main-tour players, Fonseca participated in last week’s Estoril Challenger following an early loss in Madrid (second round to Tommy Paul 7-6(7), 7-6(3)). The 18-year-old Brazilian got clobbered right away by Jesper de Jong 6-2, 7-5, but perhaps that can be chalked up to relative disinterest. Fonseca loves the big stage and should be back to his best self for a debut appearance at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Up first for the world No. 65 in the opening round on Thursday is an opponent who has plenty of experience at this tournament. Marozsan’s unofficial arrival on tour came in the form of a shocking third-round upset of Carlos Alcaraz in 2023. Fast forward two years, though, and now it is Fonseca who is the rising star whereas the 61st-ranked Hungarian is somewhat stuck in neutral. This should be a fascinating clash between Fonseca’s firepower and Marozsan’s variety. If both guys play their best, Fonseca wins–and so far in 2025 he has been playing his best more often than Marozsan.
Pick: Fonseca in 2
Learner Tien vs. (PR) Reilly Opelka
Speaking of contrast in styles, an even more extreme example will be on display when Tien and Opelka go head-to-head for the first time. These two Americans could not be more different. Tien, 19, is a left-hander who is already one of the smartest players around and wins with tactical genius from the back of the court; Opelka, 27, bullies his opponents with huge serves and forehands.
Clay is an interesting surface for this matchup, because Tien is a novice on it and Opelka simply isn’t good on it. That being said, you have to think a slower court will give Tien a better chance of handling his compatriot’s serve and playing his way into plenty of baseline rallies. Moreover, a retirement from a quarterfinal match at last week’s Aix-en-Provence Challenger does not bode well for Opelka.
Pick: Tien in 3
WWW?
Opelka in three, mainly because of his record here Tien has hardly played on clay
the Fonz in 3; Tien in 2
Opelka in 2 – Tien not looking great on clay for me + Opelka actually has a better % win record vs lefties on ATP/Challenger & ITF.
Marozsan 3 – I think he’s underrated and Seca overrated at the moment. I think Maro has a similar playstyle to Tommy Paul and can perform very well when he’s on. Fonseca also has a heigh ceiling but I’m not convinced he’s on form right now.
good call
Opelka had a good run here few years ago. At times you would think it was a Hardcourt, with players like Pliskova and Meddy winning