Italians Matteo Arnaldi and Fabio Fognini will take the court in front of the home crowd on Thursday at the Rome Masters. They are set for respective first-round meetings with Roberto Bautista Agut and Jake Fearnley.
Matteo Arnaldi vs. Roberto Bautista Agut
Arnaldi and Bautista Agut will be going head-to-head for the first time when they clash in round one of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Thursday. This is a tale of two players at opposite ends of the career spectrum, and it’s safe to say that Bautista Agut is slowing down at 37 years old. The Spaniard is 4-11 this season and has not won more than a single match at any tournament in 2025.
At 24 years old, Arnaldi is up to No. 37 in the world and can make a late push for French Open seeding by making a deep run in Rome. That is exactly what the Italian did in Madrid, where he advanced to the quarterfinals with wins over Novak Djokovic and Frances Tiafoe before falling to Jack Draper. As if Arnaldi needs any help in this matchup, the fans at the Foro Italico will give him an extra boost.
Pick: Arnaldi in 2
Jake Fearnley vs. (WC) Fabio Fognini
Fognini is making his final appearance at the Rome Masters, he announced on Wednesday. It is a sensible decision, as the 37-year-old is seemingly on his last legs in tennis. He is outside the top 100 (107th) and has not won a main-draw match at the ATP level in 2025. Fognini has picked up a few victories in qualifying and at the Challenger level, but he hasn’t defeated anyone ranked better than 84th and he just lost to world No. 396 Neil Oberleitner at the Mauthausen Challenger.
Up first for Fognini on Thursday is Fearnley, who is enjoying his first full season on the pro tour–and he really is enjoying it. The former college standout at TCU has already climbed to 57th in the rankings thanks in part to a third-round performance as a qualifier in Madrid and a second-round effort in Miami–also as a qualifier. Although clay would not be expected to be Fearnley’s best surface, early returns are very encouraging. Most importantly for his chances in this one, the Brit is facing an opponent who is hopelessly out of form.
Pick: Fearnley in 2
WWW?
Arnaldi in 2; The Fog rallies for a Rome win, in 3.
Fognini is unlikely to win. While he drew some inspiration from Musetti in Monte Carlo, that motivation has likely faded, and he will likely revert to a player who is a shadow of his former self.
Let’s try again with non-gpt version:
Fognini won’t win. While he drew some inspiration from Musetti in MC, that motivation has now faded, and will revert back to being a shadow of his former self.
Fognini live for games like this. In front of the Italien crowd hes a complete different player. In 2
Arnaldi in 2
Fearnley in 3. Normally I’d go 2 but Fog will be going for it and he said it’s his last ATP Rome so the crowd going extra large for him (he can sometimes lose motivation in a match). However Jake been playing very well and I still think he’ll be too solid. Potentially losing S1 and winning S2,3 IMO.
This was Bautista all day. Arnaldi was underwhelming in his last match. A sitting duck for an experienced veteran on the rise.
lol
Nothing funny about it; you should know better. Stop tailing the bookies.
Logically the Italian clay courter should do better than the flat hitting Spaniard who’s over the hill. But where does logic come into it?