TennisSection previews the 2021 Rome Open as Matteo Berrettini (9) meets Nikolosz Basilashvili in the First Round on Tuesday May 11th, 2021.
An exciting match is expected as ninth seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini faces Nikolosz Basilashvili in the First Round at the 2021 Rome Open. Both men have been in very good form lately, and have recently won ATP Tour titles. Will the unseeded Georgian be able to cause the huge upset? Or can the Italian star continue his recent streak and advance here in Rome?
Matteo Berrettini is the currently Italian #1 and is ranked #9 in the ATP world rankings. After a poor start to the year he has been in phenomenal form over the past few weeks, winning the title in Belgrade and then reaching his first ATP-1000 Final in Madrid. While he was very unlucky to not win the title last week after being up, he will have taken a lot of confidence from that performance. The Italian star enters the 2021 Rome Open as one of the dark horse contenders to win this title, and based on his recent performances on this surface it is hard to argue with that. Berrettini is the overwhelming favorite to win here against Nikolosz Basilasvili, and in his currently form he is expected to brush the Georgian aside with his trademark one two punch with his serve and forehand.
Nikolosz Basilashvili is currently ranked #30 in the ATP world rankings, and is a former top 20 player. After a miserable 2020 season where he struggled to string wins together, he has been much improved so far this season. While he won the title in Munich and reached the Semi-Finals in Sardinia, the Georgian has struggled with consistency, losing in the First Round of most of the other events he has played this year. He will desperately be seeking a strong performance here in Rome to bring some stability back, but unfortunately he is facing one of the most in-form players in the world in Matteo Berrettini. Basilashvili enters this match as the heavy underdog and will need to play his absolute best to get anything out of this match here at the 2021 Rome Open.
This will be the fourth career meeting between the two players, with Matteo Berrettini leading the head to head series 2-1. Interestingly, the only time they have played on clay (2018 in Marrakech), Nikilosz Basilashvili got the victory. While the Georgian is a good player and has been in good form, there will only be one outcome here, and that is a straight-sets win for the Italian. Berrettini has been in superb form over the past two weeks, and has hardly put a foot wrong. When he is playing with a lot of confidence he is extremely hard to stop, and it is difficult to see the inconsistent Georgian #1 causing much trouble. Expect the Italian star to come out firing, dominating this match from start to finish. Matteo Berrettini will win here, and advance to the Second Round of the 2021 Rome Open.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Matteo Berrettini to win in straight sets.
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