The 2016 edition of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia tournament is about to start. The Rome Masters follows a week in Madrid in which Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal both made the semifinals, along with Andy Murray. Their matches will play out this weekend in the chase for the Madrid title. Which one will win Madrid and come to Rome as a marked man?
The competition in the 56-player main draw began on Monday, May 9.
Event Details
Event: Rome Masters
Category: ATP World Tour – Masters 1000
Date: May 9 – 15, 2016
Location: Foro Italico – Rome, Italy
With a prize money allotment of over 3.74 million Euros and an overall financial commitment of over 4.3 million, the Rome Masters is not as lucrative as the previous week’s event in Madrid, which has greater financial backing at a newer and more modern facility. Nevertheless, it’s a very important tournament because it’s the last most significant warm-up tournament on the road to the French Open. Moreover, the Roman clay is considered a more natural clay surface compared to the harder and more packed surface at altitude in Madrid’s more enclosed courts. Rome is viewed as the truer test of a clay-court player, so everyone wants to play and do well here in order to feel good about Roland Garros.
The points structure under the ATP system is that the championship means 1,000 points. A runner-up finish is worth 600. A semifinal result is 360 points, and a quarterfinal appearance offers 180 points. A round-of-16 results provides 90 points, a round-of-32 showing 45 points.
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015 – Novak Djokovic def. Roger Federer – 6-4, 6-3
2014 – Novak Djokovic def. Rafael Nadal – 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
2013 – Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer – 6-1, 6-3
2012 – Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic – 7-5, 6-3
2011 – Novak Djokovic def. Rafael Nadal – 6-4, 6-4
Player Info:
Like most of the Masters tournaments on the yearly ATP Tour schedule, the Rome event has a 56-player main draw with the top eight seeds getting a bye in the opening round.
The big news here, with the draw already having been released, is that Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal would play in the quarterfinals. Nadal is the number five seed in Rome, and so if he fails to beat Djokovic in the quarterfinals, should the two men meet, he would probably be the fifth seed at the French Open, which would mean that a quarterfinal with Djokovic would be possible. Nadal is trying to overtake Stan Wawrinka for the number four seed in Paris. If he can do that, he would not have to worry about possibly meeting Djokovic in the quarterfinals. He would not be able to meet Djokovic any earlier than the semifinals. He might have to beat Djokovic here in order to keep that quest alive. He would also need Wawrinka to lose earlier in the tournament in order to gain enough rankings points.
Another story here is that Roger Federer is scheduled to play after suffering a back injury when practicing before Madrid. Like Serena Williams, Federer has missed several tournaments this year. He wants to be able to get some matches under his belt before the French Open. A lot of people will be keeping a close eye on him to see what kind of form he’s in in. It will be important for betting the French Open as if he’s not 100%, he’ll be someone you want to avoid.
The Foro Italico
The Foro Italico is one of the most impressive old facilities on the ATP Tour. The central court is an intimate court with the fans right on top of the action. The stadium is tall, and the seats have a steep, sloping quality to them which shoehorns fans in an intimate way, especially for night matches. Some of the other courts at the Foro Italico are amphitheaters, basically, dug into the grounds. Fans walk the complex and can look in on some matches at the top of a court’s seating structure from their ground-level position. One of the other courts at the Foro Italico is named after two-time French Open champion Nicola Pietrangeli, one of Italy’s greatest tennis players (from the late 1950s and early 1960s).
