The Internazionali BNL d’Italia offers three compelling matchups to watch. First up is Elena Rybakina against Alexandra Eala, a contrast of established firepower and rising punch. After early-season successes Rybakina arrives with lofty goals: to win her first Roland Garros and take over No. 1. Her momentum took a hit in Madrid, where she was surprised by Anastasia Potapova. That loss raises the question of whether it will dent her confidence. Eala brings penetrating pace that can force defenders into uncomfortable positions, but Rybakina sits 40 ranking spots higher, owns a Rome title and is 28-6 this season. Rybakina’s serve is the clearest buffer if rallies tighten. Estimated start time: 8:10 a.m. Prediction: Rybakina.

The second match pits the two Alexanders: Alexander Zverev, the German veteran, and Alexander Blockx, the Belgian rookie. They met for the first time last week in Madrid, where the older Alexander prevailed 6-2, 7-5. “I think I had it under control from the start,” Zverev said, after using his rangy consistency to blunt Blockx’s potent attack. Blockx battled early nerves in that meeting, and he should be calmer this time. On the other side, Zverev is a two-time Rome champion and appears to have his clay groove back. That combination of experience and recent form makes him the favorite. Estimated start time: 8:10 a.m. Prediction: Zverev.

The day’s third encounter features a power-baseline duel between 19-year-old Jodar and 25-year-old Flavio Arnaldi. Jodar has been on a tear since March and looked sharp in his Rome opener. Arnaldi was highly touted as a teen before injury slowed his progress; he is ranked 106, recently won a Challenger on clay and upset Alex de Minaur on Friday. Playing in front of a boisterous home crowd should buoy Arnaldi, but Jodar’s superior weaponry and form since March make him the one to watch. Estimated start time: 8:10 a.m. Prediction: Jodar.

With Carlos Alcaraz out of Roland Garros because of a right wrist injury, a contest in Rome had been shaping up to decide who would sit behind world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the Paris draw. With Jannik Sinner as the No. 1 seed, of course.

That fight is effectively settled. Alexander Zverev is now guaranteed to remain world No. 3, according to the ATP’s official live rankings, regardless of the remainder of the Italian Open. Because Roland Garros seedings are determined from the post-Rome rankings, that guarantee projects Zverev to be the No. 2 seed in Paris this year.

Novak Djokovic had been the only player able to overtake Zverev in Rome, but he required the title to do so. Djokovic lost his opening match at the Masters 1000 event to Dino Prizmic on Friday, removing that possibility.

Being the No. 2 seed carries a clear competitive advantage: that player cannot meet the No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner until the final. Given Sinner’s recent run of form — he has won the last five Masters 1000 events in a row, including clay titles in Monte Carlo and Madrid — occupying the opposite side of the draw is significant.

Djokovic remains projected as either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in Paris, depending on how Rome finishes. Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime, currently Nos. 5 and 6, can each move past Djokovic for the No. 4 ranking only by winning the Rome title. Because they are placed in the same half of that draw, both cannot reach the final, so only one could achieve the jump.

That scenario means Djokovic will be among the top four seeds in Paris and will avoid Sinner and Zverev until at least the semifinals. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds are then randomly placed in either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed’s half at tour-level events.

For Zverev, this would be his third time seeded No. 2 at a Grand Slam, after Roland Garros in 2018 and the Australian Open in 2025. In Paris in 2018 he reached the quarterfinals before losing to No. 7 seed and eventual runner-up Dominic Thiem, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. In Melbourne last year he advanced to the final before falling to No. 1 seed Sinner, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Novak Djokovic’s return to the Italian Open ended abruptly as the 24-time Grand Slam champion fell 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to Dino Prizmic in his opening match. The contest, played on Court 1 and delayed by rain, lasted two hours and 15 minutes.

Djokovic was last at the Foro Italico in 2024, when he suffered a freak head injury due to a fan’s dropped water bottle, and had been off the tour since a fourth-round exit at the BNP Paribas Open. Competing two weeks shy of his 39th birthday and chasing a 25th major, he arrived in Rome after coming up short at the Australian Open, where he defeated Jannik Sinner in a five-set semifinal but finished runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz. He has played just one tournament since then heading into the clay season.

“I wanted to be back on the tour earlier, but unfortunately the injury prevented me to do that,” he said in his pre-tournament press conference, “so I had to wait a bit more and progressively improve the state of the body and obviously get ready for Roma, the city and the tournament that I truly love, and I had great success in for many years.

“The ultimate goal on this surface is Roland Garros and trying to get ready to play my best tennis there. But nevertheless I do want to do well here, so I do have a lower expectations.”

As the No. 3 seed Djokovic earned a second-round spot but ran into the 20-year-old Croatian who had pushed him to four sets in their only previous meeting at the 2024 Australian Open. Prizmic reached the main draw by winning two qualifying matches, had scored his first Top 10 victory over Ben Shelton last week at the Mutua Madrid Open and advanced to face Djokovic after a straight-sets win over Marton Fucsovics on Wednesday.

Djokovic broke twice to take the opening set, but was visibly ill in the second, winning just six points in the first four games. Prizmic closed out the second set, then secured the decisive break in the fifth game of the third. Djokovic served to stay in the match at 5-3, but Prizmic delivered an ace to seal the victory, the biggest win of his young career and a match that matched his best Masters 1000 result.