Italian Open Seeds 2023: Who Are the Seeds and How Are They Doing?

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May 20 Update – Rybakina wins the title, Rune and Medvedev will play in the men’s final

Elena Rybakina is the new Italian Open champion after Anhelina Kalinina retired in the second set of the final match, with Rybakina leading 6-4, 1-0. This is the second title this year for the player from Kazakhstan after she won in Indian Wells.

On Sunday, Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev will face each other in the men’s final. Rune defeated Casper Ruud in the semis, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, while Medvedev went past Stefanos Tsitsipas, 7-5, 7-5. This will be the second match between the two after Holger Rune won in the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo earlier this year – 6-4, 6-3.

May 19 Update – Medvedev and Tsitsipas go through

Day 12 of the Italian Open did not serve any upsets. Daniil Medvedev advanced to the semifinals after a 6-2, 6-2 win over Yannick Hanfmann. The Russian needed only one hour and 22 minutes to go through against Hanfmann, who had the best tournament of his career after making it from the qualifiers all the way to the quarterfinals. Stefanos Tsitsipas also had a routine job against Borna Coric, winning 6-3, 6-4. Coric managed to come back from a break down in the second set, but Tsitsipas picked up the level and closed the match in straight sets.

Medvedev and Tsitsipas will face each other in the semifinals on Saturday when Casper Ruud and Holger Rune will also play for a place in the final.

In the ladies’ semifinals, Anhelina Kalinina defeated Veronika Kudermetova 7-5, 5-7, 6-2. Kalinina will play Elena Rybakina in the final match after the Kazak player defeated Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4.

May 17 Update – Djokovic and Swiatek both out

Day 10 of the Italian Open saw both top favorites finishing their Rome journey. Novak Djokovic lost to Holger Rune, while Iga Swiatek retired in the third set of the match against Elena Rybakina.

The top seeded Djokovic was the favorite in the match against the 20-year-old Danish player, who proved to be a tough opponent and prevailed in the match that was interrupted by rain. Djokovic got back in the match after losing the opener, but the 7th seed Rune dominated the last one for the final 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in 2 hours and 17 minutes of play. The fourth seed Casper Ruud had no such problems as he defeated Francisco Cerundolo 7-6, 6-4. Ruud and Rune will face each other in the semifinals, while the remaining two semifinalists will be known on Thursday after the matches Yannick Hanfmann vs Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Borna Coric.

Iga Swiatek, who won the tournament in the last two years, was forced to withdraw in the third set at 6-2, 6-7, 2-2 due to a right thigh injury. She suffered the injury in the second set tie-break and left the court in tears for the medical. Swiatek tried to keep on playing but that was simply impossible. The retirement ended Swiatek’s 14-match winning streak in Rome and raises questions about her status for the upcoming French Open. In the second match of the women’s schedule, the 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko defeated Paula Badosa 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. In the semifinal round, Ostapenko will meet Rybakina while Veronika Kudermetova will go against Anhela Kalinina. The semifinals are scheduled for Friday.

-May 16 Update – Sinner and Rublev are out

Day 9 of the Italian Open brought many interesting matches and two huge upsets in the men’s draw. The 8th seed and the biggest hope of the home fans, Jannik Sinner, lost in the round of 16 to Francisco Cerundolo 6-7, 6-2, 6-2. The match lasted almost 2 and a half hours, and Sinner was simply outplayed by the world No. 31.

Even bigger upset is the loss of the 6th seed Andrey Rublev who failed 6-7, 6-4, 3-6 to world No. 101, Yannick Hanfmann. The German had 18 aces and 34 winners for his biggest win this year.

The rest of the top seeds had no trouble advancing to the quarterfinals. Novak Djokovic went past Cameron Norrie 6-, 6-4 in a match that brought a lot of tension on the court. Djokovic will play the 7th seed Holger Rune in the quarterfinals who defeated Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. Stefanos Tsitsipas had a busy day on Tuesday. First, he finished the match against Lorenzo Sonego and then defeated Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 7-5, eliminating the last two Italians standing in the tournament. The Greek will play Borna Coric next after the Croat defeated the biggest sensation of the tournament Fabian Marozsan 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Daniil Medvedev advanced to the last 8 with a 6-2, 7-6 win over Alexander Zverev and will play Hanfmann next.

The women’s tournament had four matches scheduled with no upsets. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek is through to the quarterfinals after a 6-3, 6-4 win over Dona Vekic. Paola Badosa defeated Karolina Muchova in three sets just like Veronika Kudermetova did to Qinwen Zheng and Anhelina Kalinina to Beatriz Haddad Maia.

May 15 Update – Alcaraz Stunned by World No. 135

Day 8 of the men’s tournament brought us the first major upset as Carlos Alcaraz lost to Fabian Marozsan in straight sets. Alcaraz was the second seed in the tournament and the top favorite to win it all. Then, out of nowhere, came the World No. 135 Marozsan, who is playing his first ever ATP Masters 1000 tournament. The Hungarian was not impressed by his opponent and managed to win the match 6-3, 7-6 in one hour and 42 minutes. Marozsan will play the 15th seed Borna Coric in the round of 16 after the Croatian player defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6, 6-1.

The rest of the seeds went through even though they had a tough day at work. The third seed Daniil Medvedev turned things around to defeat Bernabe Zapata Miralles in three sets. The Spaniard started strong winning the first set 6-3, but then the Russian came back to win the next two, 6-1, 6-3. In the round of 16, Medvedev will face the winner of the match between Alexander Zverev and JJ Wolf who was stopped due to rain with the German player leading 6-4, 3-3.

Andrey Rublev is another Russian to go through as he defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6, 6-3. The Spaniard had three set points in the opener as he led 6-3 in the tie-break, but Rublev, once again, miraculously, came back and dominated the rest of the match. Rublev will play Yannik Hanfmann from Germany in the round of 16.

In the women’s tournament, the 7th seed Elena Rybakina defeated Marketa Vondorusova 6-3, 6-3 and will face mist likely Iga Swiatek who will play Dona Vekic first. The 11th seed, Veronika Kudermetova defeated Marie Bouzkova 6-2, 6-2 and will play the 22nd seed Qinwen Zheng who went past Xiyu Wang by 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

May 14 Update – The top seeds Djokovic and Swiatek moves on to the next round

The defending champion Novak Djokovic had a tough task today against Grigor Dimitrov. It seemed like this will be another routine win for the Serbian, who was a set and a break up, but then, Dimitrov won four consecutive games and won the second set. However, Djokovic picked up the pace in the third set and won 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Djokovic will face Cameron Norrie in the round of 16.

The fourth seed Casper Ruud also had more trouble than expected. Alexander Bublik proved to be a tough opponent but the Norwegian won 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 at the end. Ruud will face Laslo Djere in the next round.

The 7th seed Holger Rune is also through after defeating the home favorite Fabio Fognini, 6-2, 6-2. He will play Alexei Popyrin next. The biggest Italian hope and the eighth seed Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 and will face Fernando Cerundolo next.

In the bottom half of the draw, the third seed Daniil Medvedev moves forward after a 6-4, 6-2 win over Emil Ruusuvouri. The Russian will go against Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the next round. The fifth seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas, finished the match he started the previous night and is moving forward after a 6-3, 6-3 win over Nuno Borges.

In the women’s tournament, the defending champion and top seed, Iga Swiatek had another amazing performance winning 6-2, 6-0 against Lesia Tsurenko. The World No. 1 will play Dona Vekic in the round of 16.

The fifth seed Coco Gauff is eliminated as the teenager lost to Marie Bouzkova after winning the opening set, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. The 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova is also out after losing 7-6, 6-0 to Jelena Ostapenko.

May 13 Update – Alcaraz starts strong

The top favorite to win the Italian Open, Carlos Alcaraz, started the tournament strong with a 6-4, 6-1 win over fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos Vinollas. The second seed spent less than an hour and a half on the court and hit 81% of the first serve and had 23 winners. In the next round, Alcaraz will play against the winner of the match between Jiri Lehecka and Fabian Marozsan that was stopped in the third round on a 2-1 lead for Maroszan.

The sixth seed Andrey Rublev is also through to the third round. The Russian won 6-3, 6-4 against Alex Molcan from Slovakia. Rublev will play the 27th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina who defeated Guido Pella 6-0, 7-6 today. The 15th seed Borna Coric will go against Roberto Carballes Baena in the third round after the Croat defeated Thiago Monteiro after 3 hours and 34 minutes by 4-6, 7-6, 7-6.

Tomorrow, the fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will finish his match against Nuno Borges, in which the Greek player leads 6-3, 4-3. The first seed Novak Djokovic will go against Grigor Dimitrov, the 8th seed Jannik Sinner will play against the lucky loser Alexander Shevchenko, and the fourth seed Casper Ruud will play against Alexander Bublik.

On the women’s tour, the fifth seed Caroline Garica was eliminated today after losing 6-4, 6-4 to Camila Osorio. The 22nd seed Qinweg Zheng defeated Anna Bondar 7-6, 6-4.

Tomorrow the top seed Iga Swiatek will play against Lesia Tsurenko in the third round. The sixth seed, Coco Gauff will go against Marie Bouzkova and the 9th seed Maria Sakkari against Marketa Vondrousova.

May 12 Update – Djokovic and Swiatek Go Through

The six-time Italian Open champion, Novak Djokovic, started this year’s journey in Rome with a 7-6, 6-2 win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry. The defending champion spent just under two hours at the Center Court to go past world no. 61. The Serbian will play Grigor Dimitrov in the third round, who defeated Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 7-6.

The fourth seed Casper Ruud cruised past Arthur Rindernech by 6-4, 6-0, and will face Alexander Bublik next. The seventh seed Holger Rune defeated French teenager Arthur Flis by 6-3, 6-3, and will play Fabio Fognini next. Fognini started with a three-set win over Andy Murray in the opening round and today defeated Miomir Kecmanovic in straight sets. The highest-ranked Italian player Jannik Sinner had no troubles against Tannasi Kokkinakis, winning 6-4, 6-1. The 21-year-old will play Alexander Shevchenko from Russia in the third round.

Worth noting are the early exits of the 10th seed Felix Auger Aliasimme who lost to Alexei Popyrin while 11th seed Karen Khachanov failed to Gregoire Barrere.

On the women’s tour, the top-seeded Iga Swiatek started strong, not allowing a single game to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in 68 minutes of play. The back-to-back Rome champion will play world no. 68 Lesia Tsurenko next. In the match of the day, Paola Badosa defeated the fourth seed Ons Jabeur by 6-4, 6-1. The third seed Jessica Pegula is also out after losing in three sets to the fellow American, Taylor Townsend. Even bigger surprise is the loss to the Madrid champion Aryna Sabalenka who failed 7-6, 6-2 to Sofia Kenin.

Italian Open Seeds

After the ATP Masters tournament in Madrid and Carlos Alcaraz’s win, the tour is moving to Rome for the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The qualifiers for the tournament started on May 2, and the men’s final is scheduled for May 21. Novak Djokovic, who has won the tournament 6 times, is back on the court after missing last week’s action in Madrid. The Serbian will defend the title and the No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings. Carlos Alcaraz, who didn’t play last year in Rome, will be the player to watch as he has already won 4 titles this year and will take over the top of the rankings if he wins the tournament.

In the women’s tournament, Iga Swiatek will head into the tournament targeting her third consecutive title. She lost in the Madrid final which will be an extra motive to go all the way in Rome. Her biggest competitor will be Aryna Sabalenka, the champion from Madrid, as well as Jessica Pegula and Ons Jabeour.

Rome Open Men’s Top Seeds

#1 Novak Djokovic

The World No. 1 is the top seed in Rome and he is going after his seventh title in the Italian capital. Last year, the Serbian defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the finals. Djokovic has played only 20 matches so far in the season and is slowly preparing to attack the record 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open in couple of weeks. He won the Australian Open and the tournament in Adelaide so far this season and is coming off a quarterfinal loss in Banja Luka. Djokovic will not play in the opening round in Rome and in the second will face the winner of the match between Luka Van Assche and Tomas Martin Echeverry.

#2 Carlos Alcaraz

Alcaraz is the best player this season as the Spaniard has won 4 titles so far in the season. He is coming off back-to-back titles won in Barcelona and Madrid. Alcaraz, who will turn 20 this week, is 29-2 so far in the season with the only two losses coming from Jannik Sinner and Cameron Norrie. If Alcaraz wins in Rome, he will most likely take over the top spot in the ATP rankings. Alcaraz will also start from the second round where he will play the winner of the match between Albert Ramos Vinollas and Francesco Passaro.

#3 Daniil Medvedev

Playing on clay is not the best surface for the Russian but he will have to start winning titles on it in order to return to the top of the rankings. Just like Alcaraz, Medvedev has won 4 titles so far in 2023 – in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai, and Miami. Medvedev has only 5 losses so far in the year and the last two of them came on clay – against Holger Rune in Monte Carlo and against Aslan Karatsev last week in Madrid. Medvedev is starting from the second round in ome and will play against the winner of the match between Emil Ruusuvuori and Ugo Humbert.

#4 Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud has a phenomenal season last year, reaching the final at Roland Garros. This season, the Norwegian has won the title in Estoril but then faced three early exits in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid. His performance in Madrid was especially disappointing as he lost in the opening round to the World No. 105 Matteo Arnaldi. However, Ruud is capable to win matches on clay and he will be among the top contenders to go deep in the tournament.

#5 Stefanos Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas has yet to win a tournament in 2023 and he is hoping to break the ice in Rome. Last year, he lost in the finals to Djokovic. Tsitsipas made to the finals at the Australian Open and Barcelona so far in the season. Last week in Madrid, he lost in the quarterfinals to Jan Lennard Struff. The Greek will start the tournament in the second round against the winner of the match between Nuno Borges and Dusan Lajovic.

Rome Open Women’s Top Seeds

#1 Iga Swiatek

Swiatek won the Italia Open in the last two years and is the main favorite to repeat that this season as well. She already won two titles this season in Doha and Stuttgart but lost in Madrid to Sabalenka in the finals. Swiatek is staring in Rome against the winner of the match between Sara Errani and Anastasiya Pavlychenkova.

#2 Aryna Sabalenka

Sabalenka is coming off an impressive week winning the title in Madrid. That is her third title this season after she won the Australian Open and the tournament in Adelaide. The Belarussian has lost only one match on clay this season and will be a major threat in Rome. She is starting against the winner of the match between Sofia Kenin and Christina Busca.

#3 Jessica Pegula

Pegula has been solid all season long but never managed to go all the way and win a title this season. Clay is not her favorite surface, but she should not be underestimated.

#4 Ons Jabeur

Jabeur is coming off an injury and has been inactive since the tournament in Stuttgart. The Tunisian has a solid season on clay having a 7-1 record so far in the season. Jabeur will most likely face Paola Badosa in the second round.

#5 Caroline Garcia

Garcia had a breakout season last year winning 4 tournaments and she can be dangerous in Rome even though he played only 4 matches on clay so far in the season.

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