First-round action at the Rome Masters wraps up on Thursday, when Jan-Lennard Struff and Pedro Cachin look to build on impressive Madrid performances. Tomas Machac and Matteo Arnaldi are also taking the court.
Jan-Lennard Struff vs. Pedro Cachin
Struff and Cachin will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they meet again in round one of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Thursday. Their only previous encounter came during last year’s clay-court swing at the Madrid Masters, where Struff prevailed 7-6(7), 6-7(7), 6-3 on his way to the final.
Both guys performed well in Madrid this time around. Struff didn’t make it all the way back to the title match, but he reached the last 16 before falling to two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a tight three-setter. The 41st-ranked German’s 2024 clay-court swing also includes a title in Munich–his first-ever triumph on the ATP Tour. Cachin went into Madrid on a hard-to-believe 15-match losing streak, but from out of nowhere he advanced two rounds before losing to Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3. That was an encouraging and much-needed result for the 99th-ranked Argentine, but the sample size of success is small. Struff is the far more consistent player right now and his overall game will likely be too big for Cachin.
Pick: Struff in 2
Tomas Machac vs. Matteo Arnaldi
With Jannik Sinner sidelined by a hip problem, Arnaldi is the second highest-ranked Italian at the Foro Italico. Matteo Berrettini also withdrew on Wednesday, putting even more pressure on other players from the host nation–like Arnaldi–to step up in Rome. The world No. 37 may be able to deliver. He has already won 14 main-tour matches in 2024, three of which came en route to the Barcelona fourth round last month.
Machac has also been one of the tour’s rising stars this season. The 23-year-old is up to 45th in the rankings with a 12-7 ATP-level match record for the 2024 campaign. Machac made a recent run to the Miami quarterfinals, but his clay-court efforts have been disappointing. He withdrew prior to his second-round match in Barcelona and in the Rome second round he got blown out by Ben Shelton 6-0, 6-2. Facing in Italian is a tough assignment for Machac as he looks to get back on track, and Arnaldi’s stellar current from doesn’t help matters for the Czech.
Pick: Arnaldi in 2
WWW?