Metkic/Pavic Aiming To Continue Momentum In Rome
Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic have been one of the most in-form teams of the year, and they’re looking to keep the momentum going at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The second seeds are going for their sixth title of the year – and their third ATP Masters 1000 crown – in the Italian capital.
Mektic and Pavic have been on a tear since teaming up at the start of the season, where they began with trophies at the Antalya Open and the Murray River Open. After winning again at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, they claimed back-to-back Masters 1000 titles at the Miami Open presented by Itau and the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. They've amassed a 13-0 record at that level, and are currently in the Mutua Madrid Open final.
Mektic and Pavic will start their Rome campaign against Alexander Bublik and Cristian Garin, who are playing their second tournament as a team.
The second seeds have landed in a tricky section that also includes Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, the Great Ocean Road Open champions. Murray and Soares are seeking their first clay win of the season, and will face Marcelo Demoliner and Daniil Medvedev in the opening round.
Top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah lead the way in Rome, looking to add a Masters 1000 crown to their 2021 trophy haul, which includes ATP 500 titles in Dubai and Barcelona. They’ll start their campaign against Italian wild cards Fabio Fognini, the 2015 Australian Open champion (w/ Bolelli), and #NextGenATP Lorenzo Musetti.
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Cabal and Farah’s section includes Miami and Monte-Carlo finalists Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski, as well as Madrid semi-finalists Tim Puetz and Alexander Zverev. The Colombians could face seventh seeds Wesley Koolhof and Jean-Julien Rojer in the quarter-finals.
Last year’s champions Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos also landed in the top half of the draw, and the Spanish-Argentine tandem is looking for its first title of the year in Rome. After contesting the Madrid final against Mektic and Pavic, they will head to Italy to face Andres Molteni and Diego Schwartzman. The Argentine duo is teaming up for the first time since 2019 in Vienna.