Day 3 at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome will see the debut of the seeds in the bottom half of the draw, with two time former champion Alexander Zverev heading a star studded lineup that promises plenty of high quality tennis this Friday in the Italian capital.
ATP Rome Day 3 Predictions
Alexander Bublik vs Sebastian Baez
Head-to-head: Bublik 1-0 Baez
While Baez is always a threat at ATP 250 and 500 events on clay, he has failed to produce those great results at Masters 1000 and Slam level thus far. Bublik has been struggling a bit lately, coming into this match on the back of three consecutive losses, but he has established himself as a Top 20 player and should be able to find a way to prevail here.
Prediction: Bublik in 3
Tommy Paul vs Aleksandar Vukic
Head-to-head: Paul 1-0 Vukic
Paul made the semifinals at this tournament last year and even came very close to beating Jannik Sinner, showing that he is arguably the best American player on clay. While making such a deep run again will be a challenge, he should be able to overcome Vukic on this surface with relative ease.
Prediction: Paul in 2
Botic Van De Zandschulp vs Aleksandar Kovacevic
Head-to-head: first meeting
Kovacevic has had the occasional big run in smaller hard court events, but he really struggles to produce his best tennis on clay. Van de Zandschulp doesn’t exactly love playing on clay either, but he’s clearly the more comfortable player of the two on the surface and the better player in general, so he should have the edge here all things considered.
Prediction: Van de Zandschulp in 2
Lorenzo Musetti vs Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
Head-to-head: Musetti 4-1 Perricard
Musetti has dominated this head-to-head so far, with every match being played on grass and hard. On a slow clay court, and with Musetti having home crowd backing to boot, it would be extremely surprising if Perricard could put up any meaninful resistance here. While Musetti hasn’t been the same since injury forced him to withdraw against Novak Djokovic in Australia, he is still one of the tour’s strongest players on clay and he will be looking to show that this week in his home Masters 1000.
Prediction: Musetti in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
