The third of three clay-court Masters 1000 events on the road to Roland Garros is underway. Taking center stage this fortnight is the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, where Jannik Sinner is looking to complete the career Masters slam — winning all nine Masters 1000s. The world No. 1 has triumphed at five Masters tournaments in a row after lifting the Madrid trophy for the first time last weekend. That leaves Rome as the only missing piece to the puzzle.
Here is a breakdown of the draw and my picks for the Rome Masters
Internazionali BNL d’Italia
Where: Rome, Italy
Prize money: 8,235,540 Euros
Top seed: Jannik Sinner
2025 champion: Carlos Alcaraz (not playing)
Carlos Alcaraz is sidelined by a wrist injury, so Sinner is a HUGE favorite in Rome. Potential challengers include Novak Djokovic, Madrid runner-up Alexander Zverev, fellow Italians Lorenzo Musetti and Flavio Cobolli, and rising star Rafael Jodar.
It is a favorable draw for Djokovic, who is making his 2026 clay-court debut and has not played since Indian Wells. The 38-year-old Serb on the opposite half from Sinner, plus he also has a seemingly routine path at least through the fourth round. Djokovic, even if he is a bit rusty, should coast into the quarters before potentially meeting either Musetti, Jiri Lehecka, or Casper Ruud.
Elsewhere in the bottom half, Zverev and Jodar are on a collision course for the last eight. Jodar, who is coming off a quarterfinal performance at the Caja Magica, will try to secure a seed at Roland Garros by faring well at the Foro Italico. The 19-year-old Spaniard could meet Alex de Minaur in round three after he destroyed the Aussie 6-3, 6-1 in Madrid.
The Rome draw is much more difficult at the top for guys like Arthur Fils and Ben Shelton. Fils could run into Sinner as early as round four, while Shelton is a possible quarterfinal foe for the to-seeded Italian. The news is even worse for Jakub Mensik, who has the misfortune of being the first seeded opponent whom Sinner could face.
The top half is also home to Cobolli, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev, and Joao Fonseca. Auger-Aliassime vs. Fonseca is a possible third-round showdown, while Medvedev will have a tough opening match on his hands against either Tomas Machac or Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Quarterfinal picks: Jannik Sinner over Andrey Rublev, Flavio Cobolli over Joao Fonseca, Lorenzo Musetti over Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Jodar over Alexander Blockx
Semifinal picks: Sinner over Cobolli and Musetti over Jodar
Final pick: Sinner over Musetti
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.