The Italian Open is now into the round 2, and today, Saturday, May 9, 2026, we found two good matches to watch. These are our betting picks for Cobolli vs Atmane and Popyrin vs Jakub Mensik at the Rome Masters.
Flavio Cobolli vs Terence Atmane
Venue: BNP Paribas Arena
Scheduled Time: 13:20 CEST
Flavio Cobolli returns to home soil as a top-10 seed, a testament to his consistency and progress over the last year. After a strong run in Madrid, the Italian is the bookies favorite here. He likes it on the slower, red clay of Rome, where his ability to slide and construct points from the baseline should work very well.
Terence Atmane, the tricky French left-hander, is also in fine form and is looking for a breakthrough win. He has a dangerous game with a high-velocity serve, but he often struggles with the patience required for long clay-court rallies. Atmane reached the 4th round in Miami, the 3rd round in Madrid and won against Zizou Bergs in straight sets two days ago.
- Head-to-Head: The h2h is tied at 1-1. Their most recent meeting was earlier this year in Delray Beach, where Cobolli won in two, tight sets.
Predictions and best bets
Expect a vocal Italian crowd again, like we saw in the Musetti match yesterday. Both players are in pretty decent form but Cobolli is the more complete clay-courter and should win with his variety. Cobolli to win in three set at odds 3.50 (+250) looks like a value bet. It won’t be an easy match, probably a bit tighter than the odds suggest, and we’re still in the start of the tournament.
Alexei Popyrin vs Jakub Mensik
Venue: SuperTennis Arena
Scheduled Time: 15:40 CEST
This is a battle between two big ball hitters in the draw. Jakub Mensik enters as the seeded player following his deep run in Madrid. The 20-year-old Czech is proving that his game works on all surfaces.
Alexei Popyrin is a dangerous floater in any draw and he seems to surprise against better ranked players when you least expect it at times. The Australian has a massive forehand and, despite his height, moves surprisingly well on clay (having won a title in Umag previously). He’ll look to keep the points short and avoid getting into backhand-to-backhand exchanges with Mensik.
- Head-to-Head: Mensik leads 3-0 and the most recent one was earlier in 2026 (a straight-sets win in Dubai).
Predictions: Mensik is a better player at the moment and he has looked in good form on the clay so far. I think he will get through this one in two sets.
Read more betting tips for the 2026 Italian Open.
