Here are our top tennis picks and best bets of the day from the Italian Open in Rome, Italy. 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic finally resumes play on the circuit (last played at Indian Wells). He will begin his run in the Italian capital against Dino Prizmic on the center court.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka will also kick off her run at the WTA 1000 event when she takes on German Eva Lys in the opening round at the BNP Paribas Arena. In addition to these two matches, we will be covering three more women’s singles contests from the Italian Open today.
Top Tennis Picks and Best Bets of the Day
Madison Keys vs. Peyton Stearns: Keys in Three Sets
We start with an All-American affair as Madison Keys locks horns with Peyton Stearns for only the third time on tour. It will also mark the second time the duo has faced each other in Rome, with their previous meeting coming in last year’s edition, which Stearns won in three grueling sets.
While Stearns has shown flashes of her clay game in recent events, she has yet to make a deep run in a tournament. Meanwhile, Keys achieved her best clay performance at the Charleston Open, reaching the semifinal.
Despite a disappointing performance at the Madrid Open, we favor the 2025 Australian Open champion to avenge her loss in Rome last year and move to the third round in three sets.
Naomi Osaka vs. Eva Lys: Osaka in Two Sets
Osaka and Lys will be facing each other for the first time on tour today. The Japanese star will be aiming to make a strong start to her journey in Rome, while Lys has already notched up a thrilling three-set win in R1 against Katie Boulter.
Osaka is 2-1 on clay this season and reached the R16 in Madrid, where she fell to Aryna Sabalenka in three competitive sets. We are heavily leaning toward the former World No. 1 coming up big in this match and beating the German in straight sets, thereby advancing to R3.
Dino Prizmic vs. Novak Djokovic: Prizmic in Three Sets
Djokovic and Prizmic will face each other for the first time at an ATP event since their only previous meeting came in the opening round of the 2024 Australian Open. The veteran Serb will play his first clay-court match of the season.
Meanwhile, Prizmic has been highly impressive on clay this season, posting a 17-5 record and reaching the final of an ATP Challenger event in Monza, the R16 in Bucharest, and the R3 in Madrid.
While Djokovic is a six-time Rome Masters champion, we are ready to make our boldest pick of the day by leaning toward the Croat to come up with the biggest win of his professional career and upset the Serb in three sets.
Jessica Pegula vs. Zeynep Sonmez: Pegula in Two Sets
Jessica Pegula and Zeynep Sonmez will face each other for the first time on tour. Pegula is the reigning Charleston Open champion, with a 6-1 record on clay this season, while the Turkish sensation is 6-2, reaching the R16 in Stuttgart and R3 in Madrid.
While Sonmez has played decently on clay this season, we don’t expect her to trouble Pegula today. Take the American to win in straight sets in this one and advance to R3 of the Italian Open.
Maria Sakkari vs. Elena Rybakina: Rybakina in Two Sets
World No. 2 Elena Rybakina will face Maria Sakkari for the seventh time on tour. Rybakina leads their head-to-head 5-1, with their most recent match in the second round of Wimbledon 2025, where Rybakina won in straight sets.
This season, Rybakina has already claimed the Australian Open and Stuttgart Open titles and aims for her first WTA 1000 title of the year. With a poor 1-2 record on clay this year, we do not expect Sakkari to pose many challenges today. Therefore, we favor Rybakina to win in straight sets at the BNP Paribas Arena.
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