When could Rafa Nadal meet Djokovic in the Italian Open?

Rafa Nadal now knows the route he must stake to reach the final at the Italian Open, a tournament that the Spanish ace has won on 10 occasions and holds a 69-8 record. He returns to the Foro Italico this month after missing last year’s event. On Monday, he put himself through a gruelling three-hour training session to gear up for his opening game.

Compatriot Carlos Alvarez has withdrawn with a forearm injury - he was joined by Arthur Cazaux, Facundo Diaz Acosta and Andy Murray. Nadal meanwhile, who last won in Rome in 2021, must wait to see who his first rival will be on his debut when he enters the first round on Thursday. It will be someone from the preliminary round, and in theory, a weaker opponent. On Nadal’s side of the draw are last year’s runner-up Holger Rune and Argentine Tomás Martín Etcheverry.

Could Nadal and Djokovic meet in the Italian Open final?

If he gets through that, the King of Clay will face a tougher test in the next round where he will meet world number nine and seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz. The Pole is one of the favorites to win the tournament alongside Novak Djokovic, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas. If he sees off Hurkacz, he could hypothetically face the defending champion Medvedev in the quarter final should both advance, then Tsitsipas or recent Madrid Open winner Andrey Rublev in the semis.

Meanwhile Djokovic, who returns to the courts after a month out, could face Ruud in the quarter finals and Zverev in the semi-finals. Before that, he could hypothetically meet Chilean Alejandro Tabilo in the third round, then Karen Khachanov. There is a chance that the Serbian could face Nadal in the final, to set up a repeat of some of the epic battles of years gone. The two have scrapped it out in six finals at the Italian Open with Novak winning two of them and Rafa the rest.

Nadal’s third outing 2024 after Barcelona and Madrid

Nadal made his comeback in April after three months on the sidelines with various fitness issues. He has dropped down to 305 in the men’s ATP tour rankings has played just twice in 2024 - he was knocked out in the round of 32 by Alex de Minaur at the Barcelona Open and made it to the last 16 in Madrid where he was eliminated by Jiri Lehecka.

Some upcoming stars will be making their main-draw debuts in Rome. Jakub Mensik starts against Yannick Hanfmann - an opponents he knows well - he beat the German 4-6, 6-7 (3-7) in the first round in Madrid just under a fortnight ago. The 18-year-old Czech is a potential third-round opponent for Djokovic, while the 19-year-old American Alex Michelsen starts against Pavel Kotov.

The 2024 Italian Open runs from Wednesday, May 8, to Sunday, May 19 in the men’s category with the women’s category running from Tuesday, May 7, to Sunday, May 19. The men’s and women’s main draw games start at 4 a.m. ET / 1 a.m. PT. and games can be watched live on the Tennis Channel.