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Daniel Altmaier vs Luca Nardi: ATP Rome – First round
One of the home crowd favorites Luca Nardi will take on Daniel Altmaier in the opening round of the ATP Rome.
Daniel Altmaier Profile
Daniel Altmaier is 78th in the rankings, and his career high was No. 47 in the world. The German is 9-14 for the season and 4-8 on clay.
He is coming off a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 loss to Shintaro Mochizuki in the opening round of the Cagliari Challenger.
The week before, Altmaier reached the third round in Madrid, defeating Martin Landaluce and Arthur Fils before losing to Hubert Hurkacz.
His best result of the season was the quarterfinal in Auckland, where he lost to Fils.
This is the second appearance for Altmaier in Rome after he reached the second round last year.
Luca Nardi Profile
Luca Nardi is 81st in the ATP rankings, six spots lower than his career high. The Italian is 16-10 for the season and 7-2 on clay courts.
Nardi is coming off a 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 loss to Thiago Seyboth Wild in the opening round in Bucharest.
The week before, Nardi defeated Lucas Pouille and Alexandre Muller to make it to the main draw in Monte Carlo, but then lost to Felix Auger Aliassime.
His best result of the season was the title at the Neapol Challenger, and he also reached the final in Chennai, where he lost to Sumit Nagal.
This is his third appearance in Rome, and he has never won a match in the main draw.
Head-to-Head
This will be the first match between Daniel Altmaier and Luca Nardi.
Prediction and Conclusion
This is a matchup between two young players who prefer playing on clay. The odds are quite close, but whoever has followed these two has probably seen that Nardi is a much better prospect. The 20-year-old has beaten Novak Djokovic this year in Indian Wells and has a winning record for the season, unlike Altmaier. The German is slightly more experienced, but that will not help him in Rome. Nardi will have the support of the home fans, and with his aggressive playing style, he will get his first career win in the Italian capital.