Jannik Sinner got a friendly draw for his return to the ATP Tour.
Sinner, the world No. 1, plays his first tournament since accepting a three-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation this week at the ATP 1000 Italian Open.
Sinner also got the easiest draw in the 96-player field for his home county’s ATP Masters event, based on the average world ranking of likely opponents. The Italian Open men's main draw starts May 7.
After a first-round bye, Sinner will face No. 99 Mariano Navone or 323rd-ranked wild card Federico Cina. He won’t face anyone ranked in the top 15 until the quarterfinals at the earliest. The two other big names in the field – No. 2-ranked reigning champion Alexander Zverev and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz – both landed in the opposite half of the draw.
Who got the easiest and toughest draws for the Italian Open?
Toughest draw for a top seed: No. 7 seed Alex de Minaur got yet another difficult draw for an ATP 1000 event. His first match likely will be against No. 34 Flavio Cobolli, the top-ranked player who didn’t get a seed. If he gets that far, de Minaur’s last four matches would be against players ranked in the top 12.
One consolation: de Minaur also got a lousy draw for the recent ATP 1000 event in Monte-Carlo, but still battled his way to the semifinals.
Toughest draw overall: If No. 47 Miomir Kecmanovic makes a run in Rome, he’ll have to earn it. Kecmanovic opens against a near-seed, No. 35 Tallon Griekspoor. Any future opponents likely would be ranked in the top 20.
Best opportunity for an unseeded player: No. 57 Jacob Fearnley won’t be a fan favorite (his first two matches would be against Italian opponents), but he otherwise got the best draw among the unseeded players, based on the average world ranking of likely opponents.
Fearnley’s first match is against veteran Fabio Fognini, whose ranking has dropped to No. 103. If Fearnley reaches the second round, he matches up against No. 29 seed Matteo Berrettini, who is most comfortable on grass. The likely opponent in the round of 32 would be No. 6 seed Casper Ruud, who might not be fresh after winning the just-finished ATP 1000 event in Madrid.