Scouting Report: Will defending champ Medvedev, Nadal stop Djokovic in Rome?

Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour

The ATP Tour heads to Rome for the third and final clay-court ATP Masters 1000 of the 2024 season at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

World No. 1 and six-time Rome titlist Novak Djokovic and defending champion Daniil Medvedev are the top two seeds at the Foro Italico, where the main draw action takes place from Wednesday 8 May through Sunday 19 May. Record 10-time champion Rafael Nadal will also compete in what will be his final Rome appearance.

ATPTour.com looks ahead at 10 things to watch as the European clay season continues in the Italian capital.

1) Djokovic Returns: The No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Djokovic will compete for the first time since Monte-Carlo. The Serbian holds a 67-11 record in Rome, where he has lifted the trophy six times and enjoys a strong relationship with the Italian fans. Djokovc will start his tournament against Roman Safiullin or a qualifier.

2) Nadal Says 'Arrivederci': As Nadal prepares for his final appearance at an event where he is a record 10-time champion, could there be one final Rome Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with his great rival Djokovic? They have met in six finals at the Foro Italico, with Nadal winning four and Djokovic two. The pair would need to make the final again for it to happen.

After reaching the fourth round on home soil in Madrid last week, it is set to be another emotional goodbye for Nadal, regardless of how far he advances in Italy. The lefty opens against a qualifier with seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz lurking in the second round.

3) Medvedev Defends Crown: A year ago, Medvedev spoke candidly about how surprised he was to win a Masters 1000 on clay after he captured the trophy in Rome. It was his first tour-level title on a surface that he has made clear is not his favourite and the World No. 4 will be eyeing another deep run, especially after some promising displays en route to the quarter-finals last week in Madrid.

4) Resurgent Rublev: The fourth-seeded Rublev bounced back spectacularly from four straight defeats by charging to his second Masters 1000 trophy in Madrid. The 26-year-old, who has won six of his 16 tour-level titles on clay, will hope to build on that form with a good showing in Rome. He holds a 5-4 record in the Italian capital, with his best performance a quarter-final run in 2021.

5) Ruud Rolling: Norwegian star Casper Ruud is in third place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and has shown some of his best tennis early in the clay-court season. The 25-year-old made the Monte-Carlo final before claiming the biggest trophy of his career in Barcelona. After a fourth-round exit in Madrid, he will be eager to bounce back at the Foro Italico, where he advanced to the semi-finals in his past three appearances.

6) Italian Hopes: While World No. 2 Sinner is missing the Internazionali BNL d’Italia due to injury, there are plenty of home favourites who will try to make their mark. Leading the way will be 26th seed Lorenzo Musetti, fresh off a run to an ATP Challenger Tour final in Cagliari. The 22-year-old broke onto the scene by qualifying for Rome and reaching the third round of the main draw in 2020.

Other Italians to watch include Matteo Arnaldi, reigning Cordoba champion Luciano Darderi and former Top 10 star Matteo Berrettini, who reached the quarter-finals in Rome in 2020. All the wild cards are also Italian, headlined by Fabio Fognini.

7) Tsitsipas in Rome: Stefanos Tsitsipas has won 10 of his past 13 matches in Rome, making runs to the quarter-finals, final and semi-finals in the past three years. On each occasion he has lost to one of the Top 3 players in the world: Djokovic twice and Medvedev one year ago. The Greek has also played well on clay this year, emerging victorious in Monte-Carlo. Will the sixth seed break through in Italy for the first time?

8) Rune Defending Finalist: One year ago, Denmark’s Holger Rune made a memorable run to the final at the Foro Italico. In just his second appearance at the tournament, he upset Djokovic in the quarter-finals and Ruud in the semi-finals to earn the right to play for the title. After this year reaching the quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo and the semi-finals in Munich, he will look to battle even further in Italy. The 10th seed begins his event against Daniel Altmaier or home favourite Luca Nardi.

9) #NextGenATP In Action: The 31st seed Arthur Fils is in first place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. He will continue his push for a spot at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF when he faces Marton Fucsovics or a qualifier in the second round. Jakub Mensik opens against Yannick Hanfmann and if he reaches the third round could face World No. 1 Djokovic. Alex Michelsen opens against Pavel Kotov.

10) What To Watch In Doubles: Doubles is back to its usual format in Rome after undergoing a trial with innovative rules in Madrid. The defending champions are Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski. Keep an eye out for the new co-World No. 1s in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, the 2020 titlists at the Foro Italico.