The draw for the 2013 Rome masters (Italian Open) was released earlier today. Roger Federer is seeded second and receives a bye in the first round. The Swiss maestro is looking to bounce back from his upset loss in Madrid. More importantly, he is seeking to find rhythm in his game in time for Roland Garros in just two weeks. Federer’s first match will come in the second round, against either Radek Stepanek or Potito Starace. Following that, his third round opponent is seeded to be the in form Tommy Haas, who at 35 has moved up to #13 in the rankings. Other possible opponents include Gilles Simon or Mikhail Youzhny. Moving into the later stages of the tournament, projected quarterfinal opponents include Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet, or Grigor Dimitrov. Andy Murray is the seeded semifinal opponent, with possibility of Juan Martin Del Potro as well. Leading the opposite side of the draw are top seeded Novak Djokovic, fourth seeded David Ferrer and fifth seeded but heavy favorite, Rafael Nadal.
Main draw play begins Monday, May 12. Watch full coverage of the 2013 Rome masters on FF07tv. See Roger Federer’s Nike outfit for the Italian Open here.
View the full draw below. Watch Roger Federer’s Rome preview interview, plus a short video of the Swiss maestro practicing with Kevin Anderson earlier today.
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