Italian Open 2026: Best Bets In Rome On Friday

William Hill tipster Sam Cox previews Friday’s biggest matches at the 2026 Italian Open, with some of the world’s best players in action.

The clay-court season has moved on to Italy after an intriguing week or so on in Madrid.

Italian Open Predictions Today:

• Alexander Blockx to win 2-0 (Evens)
• Dino Prižmić +3.5 games (4/5)
• Anastasia Potapova vs Karolína Muchová to reach final set (13/10)
• Peyton Stearns to win (11/8)

Continuing his utter dominance, Jannik Sinner enters as the tennis betting favourite in the men’s draw, while the women’s draw is wide open.

Tallon Griekspoor vs Alexander Blockx

Split by only five spots in the world rankings, this should be a hard-fought match. Alexander Blockx is coming off a breakout performance in Madrid, with his first Masters semi-final and three impressive wins before losing to Alexander Zverev in the last four.

Tallon Griekspoor has really struggled since the hard courts were swapped for clay. The Dutchman has one win across his last four events to take him to 8-10 overall in 2026.

In some ways, the rankings tell us a false story here. The form of these players couldn’t be much further apart. Griekspoor will believe he can compete here, but Blockx’s showings over the last few weeks suggest otherwise.

Novak Djokovic vs Dino Prižmić

Dino Prižmić is facing Novak Djokovic for the second time after the Serbian beat the young Croatian at the 2024 Australian Open. Djokovic is playing his first set since Indian Wells.

Prižmić had a couple of good wins in Madrid before falling to Tomás Martín Etcheverry. It was his deepest run at any Grand Slam or ATP 1000 event and featured his first-ever win against a top 10 player.

With Djokovic returning after some time off, this represents an opportunity for Prižmić to record a marquee win.

Anastasia Potapova vs Karolína Muchová

Karolína Muchová has a 4-1 record against Anastasia Potapova, including a win in Linz earlier this year. After a surprising run to the semis in Madrid, Potapova came from a set down to beat Dalma Gálfi in the first round.

It’s not just Potapova in good form, though. Muchová won in Doha, made the semis at the Miami Open, and was the runner-up in Stuttgart after beating Coco Gauff and Elina Svitolina.

This promises to be a highly entertaining match between two of the WTA Tour’s highest-performing players. We think this is going the distance.

Madison Keys vs Peyton Stearns

Peyton Stearns has won both of her previous matches against Madison Keys, including a victory in Rome last year. Since winning in Austin, Stearns has struggled and has gone 2-3 on clay courts.

Keys is playing her first match in a month. A win over Belinda Bencic was followed by a disappointing loss in Charleston, and it’s been a disappointing few months for the 31-year-old.

Stearns has the head-to-head edge and represents decent value, despite her clay-court woes.

*Odds subject to change – prices accurate at the time of writing*