Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Emma Raducanu learn Italian Open fate with British star on early Coco Gauff collision course

The men's title is up for grabs on the Italian clay, with Carlos Alcaraz - who beat Sinner in last year's final - absent, as he continues to recover from a wrist injury which will keep him out of the French Open.

Fittingly, a title in his home country could see Sinner complete the Career Golden Masters - with the Italian Open the only ATP Masters 1000 crown which has so far eluded him.

The 24-year-old is on a 27-match winning streak in ATP 1000 events, and by winning the Madrid Open on Sunday with a straight-sets victory over Alexander Zverev, he claimed five successive Masters titles, while he has not suffered defeat since mid-February in Doha.

Djokovic, meanwhile, is slated to take part in his first event since Indian Wells, where he crashed out in the last 16 to Jack Draper.

The Italian Open will mark the Serbian's first clay preparations ahead of the French Open, which gets underway on May 24 - live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

Meanwhile, home favourite Jasmine Paolini will defend the women's title in Rome. She beat Coco Gauff in straight sets 12 months ago, but faces stiff competition to retain her crown in a particularly competitive women's draw.

While Draper will not take part in Rome - owing to a knee injury which will sideline him for the French Open - British interest is still high with Raducanu, Katie Boulter and Cameron Norrie among the high-profile names in the draw.

The world No. 1 has only been defeated by two players this year: Djokovic, in their absurd, marathon Australian Open semi-final, and Jakub Mensik.

Mensik outlasted Sinner in a three-set battle in Qatar in February, and could stand in Sinner's way of the Italian Open title - should they both make it to the third round.

First, Sinner will have to defeat either Sebastian Ofner or Alex Michelsen in the second round, with the home star receiving an automatic bye to that stage.

Frances Tiafoe and Arthur Fils are the potentially seeded opponents Sinner could then face in the fourth round. Fils - who has enjoyed a spectacular run of form since returning from injury post-Australian Open - suffered a straight-sets defeat to Sinner in the Madrid semi-finals.

Ben Shelton could meet Sinner in the quarter-finals, should he progress further than other seeds including Brandon Nakashima, Andrey Rublev and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in that segment of the draw.

With Djokovic and No. 2 seed Zverev in the other half of the draw, neither are able to meet Sinner until the final.

With Alcaraz out of the French Open, Djokovic may well be feeling that will be his best possible shot at finally clinching the record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

And his path to a potential Rome final is an intriguing one. After his first-round bye, Djokovic will face either Marton Fucsovics or a qualifier in the second round.

Ugo Humbert could then await in the third, should the Frenchman come through his match against either Fabian Marozsan or Vit Kopriva.

Arthur Rinderknech and Karen Khachanov are the seeded opponents in line for a potential fourth-round clash, with the likes of Lorenzo Musetti, Francisco Cerundolo, Casper Ruud and Jiri Lehecka likely awaiting him in the quarter-final.

Should Djokovic and Musetti end up making it to the final eight, it would be a rematch of their extraordinary Australian Open quarter-final tie, which the Italian led by two sets before he was forced to retire through injury.

Zverev, Alexander Bublik, Learner Tien, and Alex de Minaur are among the stars in the other quarter of the draw, who could potentially face Djokovic in the semi-finals.

It has been nearly two months since Raducanu last played in a competitive match, when she crashed out of Indian Wells with defeat to Amanda Anisimova.

Since, the 23-year-old has reportedly linked back up with Andrew Richardson - the coach who guided her to US Open glory in 2021 as a qualifier. She parted ways with previous coach Francis Roig following her Australian Open exit, in which she said she wanted to return to an old way of playing.

And her clay-court preparations get underway with a second-round match against either Solana Sierra or a qualifier in Rome.

Her route, though, is met with an early stumbling block - as No. 3 seed Gauff represents a potential third-round opponent.

The American 22-year-old - who will defend her French Open title later this month - must overcome either Yulia Putintseva or Tereza Valentova in order to reach that stage, and will be striving for better showings than those which saw her eliminated early in Madrid and Stuttgart by Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova respectively.

Should Raducanu get through her opening two matches, she could be faced with American teen sensation Iva Jovic or Marie Bouzkova as potential seeded opponents.

Defending champion Paolini, alongside Maya Joint, Mirra Andreeva and Elise Mertens, represent the other seeds in Raducanu's quarter, who she could meet for a spot in the semi-finals.

From there, Aryna Sabalenka and Anisimova stand as the big names Raducanu could meet in the final four.

Sabalenka herself could face 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in the second round, should she beat Elsa Jacquemot. Sorana Cirstea could await in the third, with Clara Tauson and Noskova seeded for a potential fourth-round clash. From there, Anisimova and Belinda Bencic are the ominous names who Sabalenka could meet in the quarters.

Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek are on the other side of the draw, thus standing as potential opponents in the final, should Sabalenka or Raducanu get there.

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