Italian Open tips and predictions: Stefanos Tsitsipas playing with swagger again

These Masters Series events should be the most attractive tournaments in the calendar, sitting just below the four majors.

However recent tinkering with the scheduling, and more specifically expanding events like the Madrid and Rome Masters so they run into a second week, have left some of the top players and a lot of tennis traditionalists unhappy. 

These events used to be all thrills and spills, with the elite from the ATP and WTA appearing either on the Tuesday or the Wednesday and then playing daily from Thursday onwards.

By making these 1000 events drag into a second week, critics say they are losing some of their lustre as the pace seems much slower than when they action was crammed into a single week.

Yet never mind the critics. This columnist is in buoyant mood after napping Andrey Rublev at 28/1 to win the Madrid Masters. Now all road lead to Rome and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Novak Djokovic in an unimaginative 15/8 favourite here but the GOAT has plenty to prove.

It’s May and he has yet to win a title this season, which is virtually unheard of given how dominant he has been over the last 10-15 years.

The Serb has claimed a record 40 Masters 1000 titles in his career and has a real chance here due to the fact Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are both out.

Alcaraz has a problem with his right forearm while Italian gun-slinger Sinner has a right hip issue.

Daniil Medvedev is the defending champion in Rome but the Russian World No 4 retired after losing the first set of his quarter-final against Jiri Lehecka in Madid last week, so also looks one to swerve despite being chalked up at a tempting 14/1.

The immortal Rafael Nadal is also 14/1 and ordinarily people would be queuing up to back him on clay at said odds.

Nadal has won a record 10 titles in Rome, but alas now the 37-year-old looks a shadow of the player who once dominated on the red stuff. 

Father Time is undefeated, and one wonders whether Djokovic at 36 is also beginning that irreversible decline?

We will know more once the red dust settles here, but I would not be backing Novak with stolen money at 15/8.

One man I can make a case for is Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is a tempting 9/1 with Planet Sport Bet.

He has been flying on clay in Europe so far this season, winning Monte Carlo and making the championship match in Barcelona before losing to Casper Ruud.

He seems to have resolved the issue he was having with his backhand and is playing with a swagger again.

He also knows how to get over the line in these type of events (Tsitsipas has reached five Masters 1000 finals since 2021). 

OK he lost in a huge shock to Thiago Monteiro in Madrid the other week, but the Brazilian made a quite ridiculous 89% of his first serves and Tsitsipas looked to be running on fumes after playing a lot of big events back-to-back.

The short rest after an early Madrid exit will not have done the Greek any harm whatsoever and he is playing with a huge amount of confidence.

On current form, you can actually make a solid argument he is the ultimate test on clay in the men’s game right now and so I am more than happy to row in at 9/1.

Suggested bet:

Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the men’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia at 9/1