Italian Open 2023 Day 4: Men's Singles Predictions, ft. Casper Ruud vs Arthur Rinderknech

The fourth day of main draw action at the Italian Open on Friday will feature 16 matches as second-round action gets underway. 15 seeds, five qualifiers, one wildcard, and a lucky loser will be in action. The likes of top seed Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka take the court on Friday.

On Thursday, the likes of David Goffin, Lorenzo Sonego, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, and Emil Ruusuvuori emerged victorious, respectively beating Luca Nardi, Jeremy Chardy, Francesco Passaro, and Ugo Humbert.

Without further ado, here's a look at how the following four matches at the Italian Open on Friday could pan out:

#1 Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Alexei Popyrin

Tenth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime opens his campaign at the Italian Open against Australian qualifier Alexei Popyrin.

The World No. 10 Auger-Aliassime is 12-8 on the season and is coming off a third-set tiebreak loss to Dusan Lajovic in the second round in Madrid. Meanwhile, the 77th-ranked Popyrin beat his compatriot Christopher O'Connell in his opener to improve to 10-10 in 2023.

Popyrin took his lone meeting against Auger-Aliassime at Adelaide 1 this year, but the Canadian should take this one.

Pick: Auger-Aliassime in straight sets

#2 Casper Ruud (Fourth seed at Italian Open) vs Arthur Rindeknech

Fourth seed Casper Ruud will lock horns with Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in his Italian Open opener.

The fourth-ranked Ruud has had an underwhelming campaign, going 11-9, following his blistering exploits in 2022. That includes six wins (6-4) in the European claycourt swing. Meanwhile, World No. 89 Rinderknech beat Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli to improve to 3-7 in 2023.

The reigning Estoril winner won the pair's lone meeting in the 2021 Kitzbuehel semifinals and should prevail again.

Pick: Ruud in straight sets

#3 Cameron Norrie vs Alexandre Muller

Thirteenth seed Cameron Norrie opens his campaign against French qualifier Alexandre Muller.

World No. 13 Norrie is 23-7 on the season, including 12 wins on clay. Meanwhile, the 100th-ranked Muller beat Kyle Edmund to improve to 7-2 in 2023. The pair haven't clashed before, but expect the reigning Rio de Janeiro champion to emerge victorious.

Pick: Norrie in straight sets

#4 Sebastian Korda vs Roman Safiullin

Twenty-second seed Sebastian Korda takes on qualifier Roman Safiullin as he seeks to get up and running at the Italian Open.

The 29th-ranked Korda is 8-3 on the season, including a surprise run to the Australian Open quarterfinals. Meanwhile, World No. 103 Safiullin improved to 4-7 in 2023 by beating Marcos Giron.

The two players haven't met before, but Safiullin should prevail, considering Korda's relative inexperience on clay.

Pick: Safiullin in three sets

About the author

Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 20 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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Edited by Aditya Singh