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The third day of main draw action at the Italian Open on Thursday (May 11) in Rome will feature 16 first-round matches. Four wild cards, four qualifiers, and a lucky loser will be in action at the third Masters 1000 claycourt event of the year.
On Wednesday, the likes of Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and Yibing Wu emerged victorious, respectively beating Ilya Ivashka, Luca Van Assche, and Richard Gasquet.
Without further ado, here's a look at how the following four matches at the Italian Open on Thursday could pan out:
#1 Lorenzo Sonego vs Jeremy Chardy
World No. 48 Lorenzo Sonego opens his campaign at the Italian Open against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.
Sonego, 27, is 10-12 on the season, coming off an opening-round exit at Madrid two weeks ago. He's 2-3 on European clay in 2023, having made the quarterfinals in Montpellier and Dubai. Meanwhile, World No. 591 Halys has won only one of his three matches this season. His lone win came at the Australian Open.
The two players haven't met before, but the in-form Sonego should take this one.
Pick: Sonego in straight sets
#2 J.J. Wolf (Making Italian Open debut) vs Hugo Grenier
The 54th-ranked J.J. Wolf will make his Italian Open debut against lucky loser Hugo Grenier.
Wolf, 24, is 11-9 on the season, making the semifinals at Dallas and the last eight at Houston. He also made the second week at the Australian Open. Meanwhile, World No. 124 Grenier is 2-2 in 2023, coming in as a late replacement for his injured compatriot Quentin Halys.
This is another first-time matchup, but Wolf is expected to prevail, despite his limited claycourt pedigree.
Pick: Wolf in three sets
#3 Emil Ruusuvuori vs Ugo Humbert
World No. 43 Emil Ruusuvuori opens his campaign at the Italian Open against French left-hander Ugo Humbert.
Ruusuvuori, 24, is 14-12 on the season, making the quarterfinals in Miami and taking a set off eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in Madrid. Meanwhile, the 50th-ranked Humbert is 7-8 in 2023.
The Finn has won both his previous meetings with Humbert and should prevail again.
Pick: Ruusuvuori in three sets
#4 Maxime Cressy vs Guido Pella
World No. 41 Maxime Cressy locks horns with Argentinian wildcard Guido Pella for a place in the second round.
Cressy, 26, is 7-11 on the season, losing his last seven matches, while the 54th-ranked Pella has won three of his eight matches in 2023. Pella should take this first-time matchup.
Pick: Pella in straight sets.
