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Big names all in action on day four
Persistent rain in Rome on Wednesday has delayed the start of play at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
View Revised Order Of Play (2pm CET Update)
Federer kicks off proceedings against Portugal’s Joao Sousa and defending champion Nadal plays the following match against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. World No. 1 Djokovic, who claimed the Mutua Madrid Open title on Sunday, headlines night session action against #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
Read: Roger Returns To Rome | Rafa Feeling Positive
Third-seeded Federer won his only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting with Sousa on the grass courts of the Gerry Weber Open in 2014. A four-time finalist in Rome, he holds a 32-16 career record at this event. Federer quickly found his clay-court form last week in Madrid by reaching the quarter-finals and holding two match points against Dominic Thiem before losing in three sets. Sousa is looking for his fifth Top 10 win and first on clay.
Who will win the latest @FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting between these players?#ibi19
— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) May 14, 2019
Djokovic defeated Shapovalov in their only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting at this year’s Australian Open. The top seed tied Nadal’s record of 33 Masters 1000 titles by prevailing last week in Madrid (d. Tsitsipas) and will have an opportunity to take sole ownership of the record by clinching the title on Sunday. Djokovic, a four-time champion in Rome, would also tie Federer’s “Big Titles” record (54) with another triumph here.
Second seed Nadal begins his quest for a ninth title at the Foro Italico. The defending champion leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Chardy 2-0, but they haven’t faced off in four years. Nadal is still seeking his first title of 2019 after three consecutive semi-final finishes during the European clay swing in Madrid, the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The Spaniard hasn’t lost before the quarter-finals in Rome since 2008.
Seventh seed Del Potro had a tough opening-round loss last week in Madrid to Serbian Laslo Djere and his draw doesn’t get any easier this week against Goffin. The Argentine is competing in just his third tournament of the year as he nursed a fractured right kneecap sustained last October at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Goffin leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head 3-1 and the Belgian showed he’s in top form this week with his first-round win over Stan Wawrinka.
Other notable matches on Wednesday’s schedule include fifth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, sixth-seeded Japanese star Kei Nishikori squaring off with American qualifier Taylor Fritz and a #NextGenATP battle pitting eighth-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas against Italian wild card Jannik Sinner.
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A blockbuster Wednesday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia features Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in their second-round opening matches on Court Centrale in Rome.
Federer kicks off proceedings at 11am against Portugal’s Joao Sousa and defending champion Nadal plays the following match against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. World No. 1 Djokovic, who claimed the Mutua Madrid Open title on Sunday, headlines night session action against #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
Read: Roger Returns To Rome | Rafa Feeling Positive
Third-seeded Federer won his only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting with Sousa on the grass courts of the Gerry Weber Open in 2014. A four-time finalist in Rome, he holds a 32-16 career record at this event. Federer quickly found his clay-court form last week in Madrid by reaching the quarter-finals and holding two match points against Dominic Thiem before losing in three sets. Sousa is looking for his fifth Top 10 win and first on clay.
Who will win the latest @FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting between these players?#ibi19
— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) May 14, 2019
Djokovic defeated Shapovalov in their only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting at this year’s Australian Open. The top seed tied Nadal’s record of 33 Masters 1000 titles by prevailing last week in Madrid (d. Tsitsipas) and will have an opportunity to take sole ownership of the record by clinching the title on Sunday. Djokovic, a four-time champion in Rome, would also tie Federer’s “Big Titles” record (54) with another triumph here.
Second seed Nadal begins his quest for a ninth title at the Foro Italico. The defending champion leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Chardy 2-0, but they haven’t faced off in four years. Nadal is still seeking his first title of 2019 after three consecutive semi-final finishes during the European clay swing in Madrid, the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The Spaniard hasn’t lost before the quarter-finals in Rome since 2008.
Seventh seed Del Potro had a tough opening-round loss last week in Madrid to Serbian Laslo Djere and his draw doesn’t get any easier this week against Goffin. The Argentine is competing in just his third tournament of the year as he nursed a fractured right kneecap sustained last October at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Goffin leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head 3-1 and the Belgian showed he’s in top form this week with his first-round win over Stan Wawrinka.
Other notable matches on Wednesday’s schedule include fifth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, sixth-seeded Japanese star Kei Nishikori squaring off with American qualifier Taylor Fritz and a #NextGenATP battle pitting eighth-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas against Italian wild card Jannik Sinner.
ORDER OF PLAY – WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2019
CENTRALE start 11:00 am
ATP – Joao Sousa (POR) vs [3] Roger Federer (SUI)
ATP – Jeremy Chardy (FRA) vs [2] Rafael Nadal (ESP)
WTA match
Not Before 7:30 pm
ATP – [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Denis Shapovalov (CAN)
Not Before 9:00 pm
WTA match
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
WTA match
ATP – [5] Dominic Thiem (AUT) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
ATP – Radu Albot (MDA) vs [10] Fabio Fognini (ITA)
WTA match
ATP – David Goffin (BEL) vs [7] Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)
PIETRANGELI start 11:00 am
2 WTA matches
ATP – [Q] Taylor Fritz (USA) vs [6] Kei Nishikori (JPN)
ATP – [8] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs [WC] Jannik Sinner (ITA)
WTA match
COURT 1 start 11:00 am
2 WTA matches
ATP – [9] Marin Cilic (CRO) vs Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
ATP – Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs [Q] Casper Ruud (NOR)
COURT 2 start 11:00 am
3 WTA matches
Not Before 4:00 pm
ATP – Possible Court Change – Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) vs [16] Marco Cecchinato (ITA)
COURT 3 start 11:00 am
ATP – [6] Raven Klaasen (RSA) / Michael Venus (NZL) vs Matwe Middelkoop (NED) / Gilles Simon (FRA)
Not Before 12:00 noon
ATP – Diego Schwartzman (ARG) vs [Q] Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP)
ATP – Kyle Edmund (GBR) / Neal Skupski (GBR) vs [4] Nikola Mektic (CRO) / Franko Skugor (CRO)
ATP – [1] Lukasz Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) vs Jurgen Melzer (AUT) / Dominic Thiem (AUT)
COURT 4 start 11:00 am
2 WTA matches
Not Before 2:00 pm
ATP – Karen Khachanov (RUS) / Marc Lopez (ESP) vs [7] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA)
ATP – [3] Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL) / Robert Farah (COL) vs [Alt] Austin Krajicek (USA) / Artem Sitak (NZL)
Seventh seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan beat Mutua Madrid Open champions Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 6-4, 7-6(4) on Tuesday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.
The Bryans, four-time champions at the Foro Italico, won 85 per cent of their first-serve points and saved all four break points faced to win their first Rome match together since the 2017 semi-finals (l. to Herbert/Mahut).
The twin brothers will meet Karen Khachanov/Marc Lopez, who beat Pablo Cuevas/Juan Martin del Potro 3-6, 7-6(3), 13-11.
Watch Hot Shot: Khachanov Saves Match Point
Austrians Jurgen Melzer/Dominic Thiem set up a second-round showdown with top seeds Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo by beating Italian wild cards Filippo Baldi/Andrea Pellegrino 6-3, 3-6, 10-7.
Canada’s Denis Shapovalov and Spain’s Fernando Verdasco knocked out Madrid semi-finalists Wesley Koolhof/Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-2, and will next face fifth seeds Oliver Marach/Mate Pavic.
Britain’s Cameron Norrie was knocked out in the second round of the Italian Open following a 6-2 6-2 defeat to 13th seed Borna Coric.
Norrie, 23, was the only British male to make it through to the second round after beating Australia’s John Millman.
Coric converted two of his four break points to win the opening set and broke again twice in the second to win in less than an hour in Rome.
The Croat will face Swiss Roger Federer or Portugal’s Joao Sousa next.
British number one Johanna Konta takes on American seventh seed Sloane Stephens in the women’s second round on Wednesday.
Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has criticised Italian Open organisers for doubling ticket prices after it was confirmed he would play.
Federer, 37, is playing the clay-court season for the first time since 2016.
The number three seed, who has a first-round bye and will begin his tournament against Portugal’s Joao Sousa, said the decision was “disappointing”.
“They made it in a way like they rewarded the fans who bought tickets earlier, which is sort of strange.”
Federer added: “I just really hope it doesn’t take away the fact I’m really happy to be here. There’s going to be good crowds hopefully, good atmosphere.”
The Swiss was beaten in the third round by Dominic Thiem on his last appearance in Rome in 2016.
Thiem saved two match points to beat Federer and progress to the Madrid Open semi-finals last week, but Federer was pleased by a strong performance and has his eyes on a second French Open title in June.
His only Roland-Garros title came a decade ago when he beat Swede Robin Soderling in straight sets.
“I think I was playing well in Madrid, so I just said, again, ‘let’s come to Rome, a city I like so much as well’,” said Federer.
“Madrid is a tough place to play. I felt like playing maybe more sea-level conditions would be good for me. There would be excitement, more excitement than me coming to a practice court in Switzerland.
“Regardless of what happens here, I just think it’s good for me to play matches at this stage.”
Federer could come up against eight-time champion Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals in Rome, and Madrid Open runner-up and eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals.
Campo Centrale was rocking once more on Tuesday afternoon as another Italian shook up the Internazionali BNL d’Italia draw.
Rome native Matteo Berrettini did the honours on day three, upsetting No. 5 and 2017 champion Alexander Zverev 7-5, 7-5 to celebrate his first Top 5 victory in front of a rocking Roman crowd. The 23-year-old Italian, who won the Hungarian Open last month for his second ATP Tour title (Gstaad, both on clay), broke Zverev once in each set, including in the 12th game of the second, to advance to the Round of 16 at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time.
Berrettini made his Masters 1000 debut only two years ago, when he was No. 249 in the ATP Rankings. But last week, the 6’5″ right-hander reached a new career-high at No. 31 in the ATP Rankings.
“Environment was great. The match that I played was horrendous,” Zverev said.
The German was coming off a quarter-final run at the Mutua Madrid Open (l. to Tsitsipas), but has struggled to find his top level this season and fell to 15-10. Zverev finished 2018 with only 19 losses (58-19).
Berrettini was the second Italian to cause a stir in Rome. On Sunday, 17-year-old #NextGenATP Italian Jannik Sinner upset American and four-time ATP Tour titlist Steve Johnson for only his second ATP Tour win and his first at the Masters 1000 level.
Read More: Sinner, 17, Already Knows His Advantage Over Tsitsipas
Berrettini, now 1-2 against Top 10 opponents, will now face Argentine Diego Schwartzman, who swept past Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1, 6-4 in 73 minutes.
Elsewhere, Portugal’s Joao Sousa saved four match points at 5-6 in the deciding set of a 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(4) victory over American Frances Tiafoe in three hours. Sousa, who also trailed 1/4 in the deciding set tie-break, will play third seed Roger Federer in the second round.
