Italian Open in Rome, 2nd Round, Tuesday, 10.05.2022
No sooner has the new Madrid champion been crowned than the tennis elite moves on! It’s a hustle and bustle, and that’s just a few weeks before the start of the French Open. The venue as of now: the eternal city, Rome.
The list of favourites is long, and of course the world number 1 is always among them. On the Italian clay, however, she gets a strong opponent right at the start. In my Djokovic Karatsev tip, you can find out why I at least trust the underdog not to go down
Missed out on the title but greatly improved form. Although Novak Djokovic was unable to snatch the title in Madrid, he had reason to be very satisfied overall. Quarter-finals of Dubai, 1st round of Monte Carlo and a lost final of Belgrade?
With these three meagre results in his pocket, he had travelled to Spain. There he easily won against Gael Monfils and Hubert Hurkacz, clearly showing his rising form curve.
In the semi-finals, however, prodigy Carlos Alcaraz was waiting. A match developed that took the spectators’ breath away. 7-6, 5-7, 6-7, after this narrow defeat, many spoke of a changing of the guard.
No one else was able to make life so difficult for the eventual tournament winner Alcaraz; Alexander Zverev, for example, went down without a chance in the final. There is no question that Novak Djokovic is on his way to becoming really strong again.
Although clay is not his favourite surface, he knows how to approach the Italian Open. In 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2020 he cleared the title here, but he has also lost a final six times.
Last year, for example, when Rafael Nadal was too strong. His 2022 tournament now begins against Aslan Karatsev, which sounds like a challenging task.
1.05 to 9.00 average, Djokovic is on top everywhere. Karatsev may still be holding his own in the world’s top 40, but the Russian is not really on top of his game at the moment. Unlike Djokovic, he has already made his first appearance in Rome.
In the 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 against Lloyd Harris, he proved comeback qualities, but also left a lot of grain. In Madrid he had already lost in the 1st round to David Goffin, in Belgrade to Oscar Otte.
It’s been months since Karatsev won two matches at a tournament, and he hasn’t done so since the Australian Open. A year ago, in his first appearance in Rome, he was not to be underestimated.
He defeated Miomir Kecmanovic and Daniil Medvedev before narrowly losing to Reilly Opelka in the last 16. So in 2021 he could beat a Serb, but Novak Djokovic is likely to be a tougher nut to crack.
A year ago, the premiere of Djokovic vs Karatsev also took place. At the Australian Open, the favourite won 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, but a little later in Belgrade, the Russian turned the tables.
The 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 victory surprised the crowd, but hardly anyone believes that Karatsev will be able to repeat the feat on Tuesday. The fact that he only managed to take two of the ten break chances against Harris also speaks against this.
My Djokovic Karatsev tip
Novak Djokovic has shown a very strong side in Madrid, few manage to go toe-to-toe with Carlos Alcaraz at the moment. He now wants to be on the laughing side in Rome.
The tournament in Madrid definitely cost Djokovic some energy.
My tip: We will see more than 18.5 games!
