Italians Jannik Sinner and Flavio Cobolli will take the court when third-round competition in Rome wraps up on Monday. They are going up against Alexei Popyrin and Thiago Agustin Tirante, respectively.
(1) Jannik Sinner vs. Alexei Popyrin
Next up on the list of players trying to inflict a rare Masters 1000 loss on Sinner is Popyrin. Good luck with that! The 60th-ranked Australian will give it his best shot in round three of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Monday. Popyrin has defeated Sinner once (at the 2021 Madrid Masters), but that was before the Italian became the current version of himself. Sinner won their next two meetings 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 at the 2025 U.S. Open and 6-3, 7-5 earlier this season in Doha.
That Popyrin even finds himself in the last 32 is a big surprise. The 26-year-old had been a dreadful 4-11 at the ATP level for his 2026 campaign prior to arriving at the Foro Italico, where he has knocked off Matteo Berrettini and Jakub Mensik. Meanwhile, Sinner is bidding for his sixth consecutive Masters 1000 title and his fifth in a row to begin this season. The world No. 1 showed no signs of slowing down in his 6-3, 6-4 victory over Sebastian Ofner on Saturday. Anything other that another straight-setter in Sinner’s favor would be a shock.
Pick: Sinner in 2
(10) Flavio Cobolli vs. Thiago Agustin Tirante
The Rome Masters may be all about Sinner, but Cobolli has a fantastic draw and it would be no surprise if another Italian joins Sinner in the semifinals. For now, the world No. 12 is focused on advancing to the last 16, and he should be able to do it against Tirante. Although Tirante won their most recent showdown (6-1, 3-6, 6-3 last year in Miami), Cobolli has gotten the best of their two clay-court contests (at the Challenger level in 2021 and 2023).
An in-form Cobolli has already reached two finals this season (champion in Acapulco, runner-up in Munich), and he opened in Rome with a 7-6(1), 6-3 defeat of Terence Atmane. Tirante is also playing the best tennis of his career, with 13 of his 23 main-tour match wins coming this year. The 69th-ranked Argentine has advanced in Rome by beating Gianlunca Cadenasso and Cameron Norrie. Still, it’s hard to see Tirante raising his level to upset Cobolli — especially in Italy.
Pick: Cobolli in 2