Preview: Djokovic, Nadal & Federer Face Double Duty On Manic Thursday

A blockbuster Thursday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia features Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic taking the court for their opening-round matches in Rome. Due to rain on Wednesday preventing any tennis from being played, 20 singles matches will take place on Day 5 in a bid to get back on schedule. All of the remaining Top 10 seeds will need to win two matches on Thursday in order to reach the quarter-finals.

World No. 1 Djokovic, who claimed the Mutua Madrid Open title on Sunday, returns to Campo Central to face #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov. Federer plays his first match in Rome since 2016 against Portugal’s Joao Sousa and defending champion Nadal hits the Grandstand against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. 

Can You Pass Our Rome Quiz?

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. The winner of this match will return in the evening to face sixteenth-seeded Italian Marco Cecchinato or German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Third seed 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. The winner of this match will take on thirteenth-seeded Borna Coric of Croatia.

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. The winner of this match will play fourteenth-seeded Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Read: Roger Returns To Rome | Rafa Feeling Positive

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. Del Potro or Goffin will play a third-round match in the evening against Aussie Nick Kyrgios or #NextGenATP Norweigian Casper Ruud.

Other notable second-round matches on Thursday’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 – THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2019

CENTRALE start 10:00 am
WTA match
ATP – Joao Sousa (POR) vs [3] Roger Federer (SUI) 
Not Before 1:00 pm
ATP – [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Denis Shapovalov (CAN) 
WTA match
Not Before 7:30 pm
ATP – {14] Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) vs Jeremy Chardy (FRA) or [2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) 
WTA match

GRANDSTAND start 10:00 am
WTA match
Jeremy Chardy (FRA) or [2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) 
Not Before 1:00 pm
WTA match
ATP – [WC] Matteo Berrettini (ITA) vs Diego Schwartzman (ARG) or [Q] Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP)
ATP – [13] Borna Coric (CRO) vs Joao Sousa (POR) or [3] Roger Federer (SUI)
ATP – [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) or Denis Shapovalov (CAN) vs Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) or [16] Marco Cecchinato (ITA)

PIETRANGELI start 10:00 am
ATP – [5] Dominic Thiem (AUT) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
WTA match
ATP – Radu Albot (MDA) vs [10] Fabio Fognini (ITA)
Two WTA matches
ATP – [8] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) or [WC] Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs Radu Albot (MDA) or [10] Fabio Fognini (ITA)

COURT 1 start 10:00 am
Two WTA matches
ATP – [8] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs [WC] Jannik Sinner (ITA)
ATP – [5] Dominic Thiem (AUT) or Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs [11] Karen Khachanov (RUS)
ATP – After Suitable Rest – Nick Kyrgios (AUS) or [Q] Casper Ruud (NOR) vs David Goffin (BEL) or [7] Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)

COURT 2 start 10:00 am
Two WTA matches
Not Before 1:00 pm
ATP – Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) vs [16] Marco Cecchinato (ITA)
WTA match
ATP – [9] Marin Cilic (CRO) or Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) vs [Q] Taylor Fritz (USA) or [6] Kei Nishikori (JPN)

COURT 3 start 10:00 am
WTA match ATP – [9] Marin Cilic (CRO) vs Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
ATP – Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs [Q] Casper Ruud (NOR)
WTA match
ATP – [3] Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL) / Robert Farah (COL) vs [Alt] Austin Krajicek (USA) / Artem Sitak (NZL)
ATP – TBA – [1] Lukasz Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) vs Jurgen Melzer (AUT) / Dominic Thiem (AUT)
ATP – TBA – Karen Khachanov (RUS) / Marc Lopez (ESP) vs [7] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA)

COURT 4 start 10:00 am
ATP – Diego Schwartzman (ARG) vs [Q] Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP)
ATP – [Q] Taylor Fritz (USA) vs [6] Kei Nishikori (JPN)
ATP – David Goffin (BEL) vs [7] Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)
WTA match
ATP – Kyle Edmund (GBR) / Neal Skupski (GBR) vs [4] Nikola Mektic (CRO) / Franko Skugor (CRO)
ATP – TBA – Guido Pella (ARG) / Diego Schwartzman (ARG) vs [8] Henri Kontinen (FIN) / John Peers (AUS)
ATP – TBA – [5] Oliver Marach (AUT) / Mate Pavic (CRO) vs Denis Shapovalov (CAN) / Fernando Verdasco (ESP)

COURT 5 start 10:00 am
ATP – [6] Raven Klaasen (RSA) / Michael Venus (NZL) vs Matwe Middelkoop (NED) / Gilles Simon (FRA)
Five WTA matches