PREVIEW | ATP Rome Open 2025 Day Five: Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper and Alexander Zverev aim for Last 16
ATP
It is getting towards the end of the opening week at the 2025 Rome Open with Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper and Alexander Zverev returning to action on Sunday as well as Lorenzo Musetti. Our preview looks ahead to Day Five of the ATP Draw.
Alcaraz and Zverev headline Campo Centrale alongside home hero
Carlos Alcaraz will be the leading star on offer on Sunday. He will face Laslo Djere in a Serbian double bill. He took on Dusan Lajovic last round and took him apart.
He looked superb in doing so after of course prior doubts regarding his injury which has kept him out since Barcelona. But ahead of Roland Garros, he is looking ready to go.
He has already defeated Djere this past clay court season winning in Barcelona last month 6-2, 6-4 to reach the Quarter-Finals so expect a similar result here.
Alexander Zverev has not been in great form in comparison and faces a bit of a banana skin of an opponent in Vilius Gaubas. He has already won four games at the Rome Open this week. He has come through qualifying and then saw off Denis Shapovalov. So while Zverev will be expected to win on paper, it shouldn't be seen either as a foregone conclusion by any means.
Lorenzo Musetti opens up the day in terms of the ATP stars facing off against Brandon Nakashima. Their Head-to-Head is tied at 1-1 albeit their two ties have come on two completely different surfaces to clay in Hard last year as Brandon Nakashima won in four sets at the US Open.
Musetti had beaten him at Queen's last summer on grass so not exactly the gauge. But Musetti also is a completely different player to last summer. His consistency has to be marvelled at and he has been the star of the clay court season in many ways thus far.
He is eighth seed and is knocking on the door of further ranking rises as the big names falter. While he is on home soil, he does seem to revel in the fact that he is and with questions marks over Jannik Sinner and whether or not he will be back to his best yet, Musetti can be relied on in comparison.
Draper, Fils-Tsitsipas among other highlights
It is a good solid day overall in ATP with showmen facing off on Pietrangeli. Corentin Moutet will take on Holger Rune to start the day.
While over on Grand Stand, it is Arthur Fils who will aim to recapture the magic that he showed early clay court season when he takes on Stefanos Tsitispas in what could be the ATP match of the day. Francesco Passaro takes on Karen Khachanov middle of the day also on that court.
The Super Tennis Arena could in fact be the top place to be again as it has been throughout the tournament as Daniil Medvedev who has often said he hates clay returning to aim for the Last 16. He faces Alexei Popyrin.
Before the man of the moment Jack Draper who reached the final in Madrid aims to continue his new love affair with the surface. He faces Vit Kopriva for a spot in the Last 16.
Amid Jannik Sinner's return yesterday, it is mainly those who battled in his absence for top spot. Some like Musetti and Draper thrived, while Alcaraz and Zverev perhaps still have a point to prove.
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Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
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