TennisSection previews the 2021 Rome Open as Novak Djokovic (1) meets Taylor Fritz in the Second Round on Tuesday May 11th, 2021.
Can the young American Taylor Fritz cause the massive upset by defeating world number one Novak Djokovic? Or will the Serbian superstar get the routine win as expected? It appears like a comfortable start to his 2021 Rome Open campaign for Djokovic as he is heavily favored to win here and advance to the round of 16 in his return to the ATP Tour.
Novak Djokovic is the current world number one player and is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. The Serbian star is a former five-time winner here in Rome and while he has been off the tour for a couple weeks is still one of the main contenders for the title here. While Djokovic has won the Australian Open so far in 2021, it has still been a down year for him as he suffered shocking mid-tournament losses to Dan Evans and Aslan Karatsev reently, and has not seemed quite himself lately. However, Djokovic is much too good for this prolonged poor form to continue, and he is expected to bounce back with a vengeance here at the 2021 Rome Open. While some rust is expected, he opens his campaign against Taylor Fritz, a solid player but one that has not had much clay court success.
Taylor Fritz is currently ranked #31 in the ATP world rankings, and is one of the top young players on the tour. While he has had a solid career thus far, he has had much more success on the faster surfaces, and is not expected to pose much of a threat to Novak Djokovic here. While he has had a solid start to the season, back to back First Round losses in Monte-Carlo and Madrid will have given his confidence a hit. The American surprisingly defeated the in-form Dan Evans 6-3, 6-2 in the First Round here at the 2021 Rome Open, displaying strong all-around tennis to get the job done. Despite that, he is up against one of the best players in history in Novak Djokovic, who he has never beaten. Fritz will have to play the match of his life to make this match even remotely competitive.
This will be the fourth career meeting between the two players, with Djokovic leading the head to head series 3-0. I see this trend continuing here at the 2021 Rome Open. Simply put, Taylor Fritz does not have the necessary weapons to trouble the Serbian star on this surface, as hus huge serve will be much less effective on these slower courts. Additionally, Novak Djokovic is one of the best returners and movers in history, and is sure to figure out how to breach the American’s defences easily. Expect a routine win for the world number one, who will advance to the Round of 16 here in Rome in straight sets.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Novak Djokovic to win in straight sets.
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