Rome R1 previews and predictions: Thiem vs. Dolgopolov, Dimitrov vs. Zverev

First-round action in Rome continues on Monday, and it includes a showdown between Dominic Thiem and Alexandr Dolgopolov. Meanwhile, Grigor Dimitrov and Alexandr Zverev are set for a rematch of their entertaining Indian Wells clash from two months ago.

Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. (13) Dominic Thiem

Thiem and Dolgopolov will be squaring off for the third time in their careers when they kick off their campaigns at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Monday. They have never faced each other on clay, as Theim scored a 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 victory on the indoor hard courts of Paris in 2014 and Dolgopolov won 6-3, 6-3 last summer on the grass of Nottingham. The red stuff should be somewhat advantageous for Thiem, even though both men are more than capable on the surface. A blistering start to the season saw the 14th-ranked Austrian capture a title in Buenos Aires and reach the semifinals in Rio de Janeiro. Thiem has cooled off just a bit of late, however, with losses to Rafael Nadal (Monte-Carlo third round), Philipp Kohlschreiber (Munich title match), and Juan Martin Del Potro (Madrid first round).

Dolgopolov is coming off a decent performance in Madrid, where he outlasted Steve Johnson in a third-set tiebreaker before dropping a three-setter at the hands of Milos Raonic. The 29th-ranked Ukrainian is 14-8 for the year, which features a semifinal showing in Acapulco and a recent quarterfinal performance in Barcelona. This should be competitive with Dolgpolov playing well and Thiem no longer on fire, but on this surface the favorite can offer almost as much variety and can do so while being far more consistent that his opponent.

Pick: Thiem in 3

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Alexander Zverev vs. Grigor Dimitrov

Dimitrov and Zverev will also be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Monday. They split a pair of three-setters in their previous encounters, with Dimitrov getting the job done 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 on the indoor hard courts of Basel in 2014 before Zverev just recently prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 at the Indian Wells Masters.

Common perception is that Zverev has been outstanding in 2016 while Dimitrov has disappointed–and that may be the case relative to expectations. In reality, though, Zverev is 40th in the race to London and Dimitrov registers at No. 21. That can be explained in part by the fact that one of the Bulgarian’s decent results (a runner-up finish in Istanbul) ended in significant disappointment (he dropped a three-setter to Diego Schwartzman on a game penalty for multiple broken rackets). Dimitrov is looking to bounce back from an opening loss in Madrid to Pablo Carreno Busta that immediately followed the Istanbul incident. Zverev owns 16 ATP-level match wins this season and will be well-rested after skipping Madrid on the heels of a semifinal run in Munich. At the moment, the 19-year-old German may be in a better place mentally that his opponent and he is off to a strong 6-3 start on this clay-court swing.

Pick: Zverev in 3

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