Nadal falls on Djokovic’s side, opposite Alcaraz’s

The draw for the Masters 1,000 in Rome, which begins on Sunday, resulted in Rafa Nadal, current champion, and Novak Djokovic competing on the same side of the draw, in the upper part of it, although they would not meet until the semifinals. While Carlos Alcaraz will try to advance downwards, with Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas as possible rivals in the quarterfinals and in the penultimate round, respectively. The Murcian and the Balearic would only meet in a hypothetical final.

The three will debut directly in the second round. Nadal, against the American John Isner, or a player from the previous one (which starts on Saturday). On their way would be Denis Shapovalov, in the round of 16, and Casper Ruud, in the quarterfinals. Djokovic will have to deal with Lloyd Harris or Aslan Karatsev, with Reilly Opelka and Auger-Aliassime on his way. And Alcaraz will compete from the start against the Italian Passaro or the Chilean Garín, before facing greater challenges against Cameron Norrie and the aforementioned Zverev.

As for the rest of the Spaniards, Alejandro Davidovich, who entered the draw as an alternative due to the loss of Gael Monfils, will run into Ilya Ivashka in the first round; Pedro Martínez, before Jannik Sinner; Pablo Carreño, against Federico Delbonis; Roberto Bautista, with Álex de Miñaur; and Albert Ramos, with Tommy Paul.

Badosa and Muguruza, on the same side

As for the women’s draw, Paula Badosa and Garbiñe Muguruza fell to the bottom and could face each other, if they both go far, in the semifinals. As they are exempt from the first round, the Catalan will face Veronika Kudermetova in the second, with whom she faced last week in Madrid. She would then have to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the round of 16 and Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinals. The woman from Caracas will meet a rival from the previous one before facing, possibly Jabeur and Sakkari. On the other hand, the big favorite is number one, Iga Swiatek. In that sector is Sara Sorribes, who will debut against Naomi Osaka, who she beat a few days ago at the Caja Mágica. Nuria Párrizas and Cristina Bucsa will have to try to qualify in the previous one. The Granadan’s first opponent will be the Norwegian Eikeri. The Spanish of Moldovan origin, to the Russian Savinykh.