2021 Internazionali BNL d'Italia...ATP 1000...Rome, Italy

[don_budge]

https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/current/rome/416/draws

Here's the draw...read 'em and weep. Some tough draws, but whose to say they all aren't tough. The usual suspects in the first round make up the "foreplay". The play before the real thing. It starts to get somewhat serious for Novak Djokovic, should Daniel Evans gets by Taylor Fritz. It is serious for both Evans and Fritz from the get go. I think that they should stop giving top seeds a bye in these big tournaments. Top players don't need to handicap the rest of the field. It's tough enough.

It's an interesting draw sheet though. There are a bunch of possible second round match-ups that seem to be of interest. Besides Evans/Djokovic how about Matteo Berrettini and Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round? How about a possible Alexander Bublik/Stefanos "The Tsitsipatti Kid" Tsitsipas? Aslan Karatsev and Daniil Medvedev anyone? The 13th seeded Denis "The Menace" Shapovalov vs. the unseeded Caspar Ruud? Finally...Jannik "GOAT" Sinner vs. the humble Fafa Nadal?

Drama at its finest. The court is a stage where all of the bulls can rage. What better place than at the home of the Forum in Rome, Italy?

No Roger Federer. We have witnessed the end of an era. What remains to be seen is the farewell tour.

[stroke]

Bash and Matteo 1st round is very enticing. Bash is now rested, Matteo on a run. Medvedev seems no threat on clay. No spin control, just the opposite of traditional success on clay. And I agree completely, 1st round byes should be terminated.

[stroke]

Sportskeeda: Italian Open 2021: Men's singles draw analysis, preview & prediction.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/italian-open-2021-men-s-singles-draw-analysis-preview-prediction?key1=googlenews

[don_budge]

Bash and Matteo 1st round is very enticing. Bash is now rested, Matteo on a run. Medvedev seems no threat on clay. No spin control, just the opposite of traditional success on clay. And I agree completely, 1st round byes should be terminated.

As enticing as Basilashvilli and Berrettini is, Medvedev and Karatsev in the second round is off the charts. On paper that is. Karatsev has come up a bit flat a couple of times when I was anticipating an epic. But the two Russians facing off in the second round seems quite compelling. The upper sixteen player quarter looks to be rather stacked. It will be interesting to see how Novak Djokovic reacts to the latest two losses. First it was Evans and then it was a perhaps career changing event with Karatsev. Novak must have a question or two swirling around in his head. Speaking of questions...Alexander Zverev. First of all he has this match coming up. If we project him out to the quarters in this Rome event, he just might have another date with Señor Fafa Phooey.

[stroke]

Fritz looked very good taking Evans in 2 sets. His winners to errors ratio was great. I have long liked his game. He could be quite the test for Novak next round.

[stotty]

I have had very little opportunity to watch tennis lately but just looking at the results tells me there are lots of good players out there yet none are showing signs of dominance. Karatsev is great and has the heaviest game known to man and timing to go with it, but he has been patchy and has lost to players I thought he shouldn't. Tsitsipas and Zverev have yoyo form at best and, as we know, you have be within 5% of your best tennis virtually all the time to have a dominating presence across the tour...just ask Rafa, Roger and Novak. It's tough out there. Tennis is not a game for fairies.

[stroke]

I have had very little opportunity to watch tennis lately but just looking at the results tells me there are lots of good players out there yet none are showing signs of dominance. Karatsev is great and has the heaviest game known to man and timing to go with it, but he has been patchy and has lost to players I thought he shouldn't. Tsitsipas and Zverev have yoyo form at best and, as we know, you have be within 5% of your best tennis virtually all the time to have a dominating presence across the tour...just ask Rafa, Roger and Novak. It's tough out there. Tennis is not a game for fairies.

So true. The margains are so small. Zverev has to me certainly produced his 2 best back to back wins in winning Madrid. He hit through Nadal, almost impossible to do, and he showed tremendous mettle coming back to beat Berrettini for the title. His biggest issue seems still to be his at times dicey 2nd serve. I certainly find Tsitsipas' game more watchable than Zverev's, but I do not think he could hit through Nadal like Zverev did. Karatsev could take down anybody anytime, certainly the wildest of wild cards.

[stroke]

Bash just simply overpowered Berrettini in 1st set with 13 winners and only 6 ue's.

[stroke]

Matteo gets through very tough win. Both those guys were killing the ball out there.

[arturohernandez]

So true. The margains are so small. Zverev has to me certainly produced his 2 best back to back wins in winning Madrid. He hit through Nadal, almost impossible to do, and he showed tremendous mettle coming back to beat Berrettini for the title. His biggest issue seems still to be his at times dicey 2nd serve. I certainly find Tsitsipas' game more watchable than Zverev's, but I do not think he could hit through Nadal like Zverev did. Karatsev could take down anybody anytime, certainly the wildest of wild cards.

Let's remember that Madrid favors the basher. Nadal has only won 6 times. During this time he won many more finals at MC. So I think things will change when we get to RG and best of five. Bashing for three sets at high altitude is one thing. Having to do it for five sets at RG is another. Soderling managed way back when. But these days it seems like a higher hill to climb.

There is the issue of age that has to start playing a role too. If the younger players begin to feel that they can stay with Nadal and Djokovic, then we just don't know when one of them will fall in a major final. Back in the 90's Lendl and Becker were meeting in every final. A few years later it was the quarters. This has not happened yet to Nadal and Djokovic. But I keep expecting it to.

So when will the big two start to fade. Stay tuned...

[stroke]

Sinner looking very good early vs Nadal. To me, the clay court game is changing. These guys like Karatsev, Bash, Sinner, and Zverev can strike winners off both sides and hit through the walls.

[don_budge]

Nadal...speaks for himself

From the moment I saw this jerk, I felt an intense dislike. I saw through his act immediately. Just now, he received a warning in his match against Janik Sinner. He took too much time doing his ridiculous schtick an he got called for it. He approached the umpire and argued that now they don't have the ballboys to bring them the towel and he doesn't have time...yada, yada, yada. He's cheater from the very first point. Before the very first point. Sinner up a break and he looks like he has the shots to push the numbskull around. One can only hope.

[stroke]

Nadal gets through the 1st set. Sinner definitely has the tools to beat Nadal on clay. His easy firepower off both sides is stand alone. I did notice Nadal's rpm's on his forehand for the 1st set are the highest I have seen. Berrettini #2.

[stroke]

Sinner played incredibly well and lost in 2 sets to Nadal. It is hard to fathom anyone other than a 100% engaged Novak or an on fire Karatsev beating him here.

[stroke]

Lot of great matches tomorrow. Match of the day, Tsitsipas vs Berrettini.