Today, we’re sharing our top tennis picks and best bets for the Italian Open. Our overview covers four women’s singles Round of 16 matches and one men’s singles Round of 32 match. Reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff continues the pursuit of her first title this season as she faces the rising American teen Iva Jovic on center court.
Additionally, four-time Grand Slam winner and former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka will compete against three-time Italian Open champion Iga Swiatek in a highly anticipated Round of 16 match at BNP Paribas Arena later today.
Top Tennis Picks and Best Bets of the Day
Coco Gauff vs. Iva Jovic: Gauff in Two Sets
Gauff will face her fellow American teen for the first time on tour. The two-time Grand Slam champion is 5-2 on clay this season, while Jovic is 6-4. Gauff has struggled to make a deep run in the past two clay tournaments in Stuttgart and Madrid, while the 18-year-old American produced her best clay result in Charleston, where she reached the SF.
We believe this match should be an easy pick for everyone, as we lean toward Gauff to win in straight sets and continue her journey toward her first title this season.
Anna Kalinskaya vs. Jelena Ostapenko: Kalinskaya in Three Sets
Anna Kalinskaya and Jelena Ostapenko will face each other for the fifth time on tour, with the Russian leading the head-to-head 4-0. All their previous meetings have been on hard surfaces; this will be their first on clay.
While Ostapenko has shown flashes of brilliance on tour this season, we don’t expect her to beat Kalinskaya today. We predict the Russian will win in three sets at the Pietrangeli arena and advance to the QF in Rome.
Andrey Rublev vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: Rublev in Two Sets
Andrey Rublev and Davidovich Fokina will face each other for the eighth time on tour, with the Russian leading the Lexus ATP head-to-head 6-1. Four of their previous meetings have been on clay, with Rublev leading that stat 3-1. The Russian is 6-3 on clay this season, while Fokina is 2-1.
While the Spaniard can cause some trouble for Rublev in today’s match, overall, the former World No. 5 should win the tie in straight sets and continue his run at the Italian Open after narrowly missing out on the Barcelona Open title last month.
Naomi Osaka vs. Iga Swiatek: Swiatek in Three Sets
Here we are with our biggest match of the day. Swiatek and Osaka will face each other for only the fourth time on tour, with the Pole leading the head-to-head 2-1, including a victory on clay. The Japanese player was knocked out in the round of 16 in Madrid by Aryna Sabalenka, despite winning the first set in a tiebreaker.
Meanwhile, Swiatek has been struggling on clay this season with a 4-2 record. However, given her performance in the last two rounds, the four-time French Open champion is expected to dig deep and beat Osaka today, in what should be an exciting battle between two former World No. 1s.
Karolina Pliskova vs. Elena Rybakina: Rybakina in Two Sets
Reigning Australian Open and Stuttgart Open champion Elena Rybakina will face Karolina Pliskova for the fifth time on tour. The Kazakh leads the head-to-head 4-0, with all previous meetings on hard courts.
This will be their first meeting on clay, and we expect Rybakina to come out of the blocks quickly, dispatch her Czech counterpart in straight sets, and advance to the QFs in Rome.
Also read:
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