Third round ATP singles action concludes on Monday, while all WTA round of 16 matches will be staged.
Monday provides a stellar Order of Play, with great matches all around the grounds of Foro Italico. But the matches the Italians will be the most passionate about feature the top two men in the world named Lorenzo. Frances Tiafoe will face Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti on what will surely be a packed Grand Stand Arena, while Stefanos Tsitsipas and Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti start off the night session on Center Court.
Other matches on Monday feature top names like two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek, Barcelona and Madrid champ Carlos Alcaraz, 2021 US Open champ Daniil Medvedev, and 2022 Wimbledon champ Elena Rybakina.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s two most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Monday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.
Lorenzo Musetti (18) vs. Frances Tiafoe (12) – Fourth on Grand Stand Arena
Tiafoe is 21-7 on the year, and won a clay court title last month in Houston, only the second singles title of his career. He overcome Daniel Altmaier in a second round match that was played across Saturday and Sunday due to rain, which was his first career win in Rome after three previous first round defeats.
Musetti is only 12-11 this season, though he’s now 6-3 on European clay since last month, which includes a semifinal run in Barcelona. He eliminated fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets on Sunday. The 21-year-old is now 4-2 lifetime in his country’s capital city.
They have split four previous contests at all levels. They went 1-1 against each other at clay court Challenger tournaments in 2020, and also are 1-1 at hard court ATP events. Most recently they met in the finals of the inaugural ATP Cup, though an injured Musetti retired after losing the first set. But in front of what will be a vocal Italian crowd at Foro Italico’s second biggest court, I like Lorenzo’s chances to defeat the 12th seed on Monday.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) vs. Lorenzo Sonego – Not Before 7:00pm on Center Court
Tsitsipas is now 22-7 in 2023, and 10-3 on clay, after beating Nuno Borges in straight sets in the second round. Stefanos is 10-5 in Rome, having reached the semifinals in 2019, and the final just last year.
Sonego is 12-12 this year, and 4-3 on clay. He defeated both Jeremy Chardy and Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets to reach this third round matchup. His best-ever performance at a Masters 1000 tournament occurred at this very event two years ago, when Lorenzo advanced to the semifinals thanks to upsets over Monfils, Thiem, and Rublev to the thrill of the Italian crowds.
Tsitsipas is 2-0 against Sonego, with both matches taking place on hard courts in 2021. On Monday night in Rome, a third consecutive victory will be the likely result. But if Lorenzo can keep the match close, and keep the crowd heavily invested, an upset would not be shocking.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Fabian Marozsan (Q) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) – Alcaraz comfortably dispatched of Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Saturday. Marozsan is a 23-year-old Hungarian ranked 135th in the world who won a Challenger event on clay in March, and outlasted Jiri Lehecka in a third-set tiebreak in the last round.
Andrey Rublev (6) vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (27) – Both men won their opening matches in straight sets. Rublev is 2-0 against Davidovich Fokina, though both matches were tight, with a final-set tiebreak deciding matters a few months ago in Dubai.
Marketa Vondrousova vs. Elena Rybakina (7) – Rybakina only needed to play seven games on Sunday before Anna Kalinskaya was forced to retire. Vondrousova has already defeated Kanepi, Andreescu, and Sakkari this fortnight, and was a semifinalist in Rome three years ago. Marketa defeated Elena in straight sets in their only prior encounter.
Bernabe Zapata Miralles (31) vs. Daniil Medvedev (3) – Medvedev earned the first Rome victory of his career on Sunday over Emil Russuvuori. Zapata Miralles is 14-7 on clay this season, and just two weeks ago won his first matches at Masters 1000 level when he advanced to the round of 16 in Madrid.
Jelena Ostapenko (20) vs. Daria Kasatkina (8) – Kasatkina escaped on Sunday in a third-set tiebreak against Julia Grabher, while Ostapenko took out fellow Roland Garros champ Barbora Krejcikova in straights. Ostapenko leads their tour-level head-to-head 3-2, though Kasatkina claimed their only meeting on clay.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Donna Vekic (21) – Swiatek has lost only two of 26 games played through two matches in Rome, and is on a 12-match win streak at this event. Vekic took out 16th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova in the last round. Iga is 3-0 against Donna.
Monday’s full Order of Play is here.
