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Fixture: (8) Jannik Sinner vs (24) Francisco Cerundolo
Date: Tuesday, May 16
Tournament: Italian Open 2023
Round: Fourth Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Foro Italico, Rome, Italy
Category: Masters 1000
Surface: Outdoor clay
Prize money: €7,705,780
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Jannik Sinner vs Francisco Cerundolo preview
Eighth seed Jannik Sinner takes on 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo on Tuesday for a place in the Italian Open quarterfinals.
World No. 8 Sinner improved to 28-6 on the season with a couple of wins this week at the Foro Italico. The 21-year-old Italian opened his campaign against Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis before facing a tough test against qualifier Alexander Shevchenko in the third round.
Sinner looked in control of the match, grabbing the opener for the loss of just three games. However, he lost the second set tiebreak, 7-4, as Shevchenko restored parity. The qualifier, though, ran out of steam and was broken twice in the third set as Sinner brought up his 28th win of the season.
Sinner has been in good form across surfaces, reaching the last four at three straight Masers 1000 events. He won his lone title of the season at Montpellier before reaching the Rotterdam final a week later. He's now 9-4 in Rome, having reached the quarterfinals last year.
Meanwhile, the 31st-ranked Cerundolo has largely operated under the radar after a breakthrough campaign in 2022. The 24-year-old Argentine has beaten Yibing Wu and Gregoire Barrere in Rome to improve to 16-12 in 2023.
Cerundolo is making his Rome main draw debut, coming off an opening-round exit in Madrid following a quarterfinal run at Barcelona.
Jannik Sinner vs Francisco Cerundolo head-to-head
Sinner has won two of his three previous meetings, all on hardcourts, against Cerundolo. In their last meeting, Sinner beat Cerundolo in the Vienna second round in 2022. This will be their first claycourt clash.
Jannik Sinner vs Francisco Cerundolo odds
(All odds as per BEMGM)
Jannik Sinner vs Francisco Cerundolo prediction
Both Sinner and Cerundolo are quintessential baseliners, with the latter particularly adept at playing on clay.
However, the Italian - with his strong serve, powerful hitting off either flank and good movement - takes the edge because of his superior experience, consistency and pedigree. Sinner has a 42-18 record on the surface, while Cerundolo is 28-23 on clay.
Both players have had contrasting runs to the last 16 - with Sinner dropping one set and Cerundolo two. Considering his better start to the year than Cerundolo, Sinner should emerge victorious.
Pick: Sinner in three sets
