Carlos Alcaraz returns in Rome, Coco Gauff vs. Victoria Mboko | Where to Watch, Live Stream Links

Carlos Alcaraz vs. Dusan Lajovic

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There are certain players who give Alcaraz trouble: Alexander Zverev, Jack Draper, Botic Van de Zandschulp. Dusan Lajovic has not been one of them. Alcaraz and Lajovic have played four times, and the Serb has yet to win a set.

Maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise, considering that Lajovic is now 34, ranked 131st, and had to win two close matches in qualifying to make the main draw in Rome. Yet I still think of him as the young guy among the classic Serbian contingent—younger than Novak Djokovic, at least—and the one with the world-class one-handed backhand. I would have thought that, with Alcaraz’s propensity for rough patches of play, Lajovic would have snuck in at least one winning set against him.

Maybe this is his moment to make Alcaraz sweat a little. Lajovic likes clay—his only two career titles came on the surface—and he has already won three matches in Rome. Alcaraz, meanwhile, is returning after more than two weeks away, and recovering from a hamstring injury that kept him out of Madrid. Winner: Alcaraz

Arthur Fils vs. Tallon Griekspoor

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On the surface, these two wouldn’t seem to have much in common. Fils is a 20-year-old, 14th-ranked Frenchman who plays with an extroverted gusto, and who has designs on Slam titles in the future. Griekspoor is a 28-year-old, 35th-ranked Dutchman who mostly gets on with his low-key business, and who has never, as far as I know, been touted as a future Top Tenner.

Yet the two have shared a strong start to 2025. Fils is 17-9; Griekspoor 18-10. Fils made the final in Monte Carlo and semis in Barcelona; Griekspoor made the final in Marrakech, semis in Dubai, and quarters in Indian Wells and Munich. Their paths have crossed once so far this year, in Monte Carlo, where Fils won a tough three-setter.

Both guys play the modern power-baseline game at a high level. They have heavy topspin forehands and two-handed backhands, and they look for the first strike. Fils is bouncier at 20, while Griekspoor may play a little more safely. I’d expect something good, and close, to come out of it. This time it may be Griekspoor, who looked sharp in his last match, who has the edge. Winner: Griekspoor

Coco Gauff vs. Victoria Mboko

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Winning, they say, is a habit. Mboko has been proving the cliché correct in 2025. The 18-year-old Canadian is 33-3 on the season. Granted, most of those wins have come at the ITF level, but her performances in those events can’t be ignored, especially for someone so young. She nearly beat Paula Badosa in Miami, and so far in Rome she has won three matches, two in qualifying and one in the opening round.

All of which brings her to her highest-profile contest yet, a night match, on center court, with the Grand Slam champion Gauff. Does Mboko stand a chance? That may depend on which Coco she faces. There’s the one who mostly stumbled through the spring hard-court season, unable to find her serve or forehand. Then there’s the one who put it all back together in Madrid, beating Mirra Andreeva and Iga Swiatek on her way to the final.

Usually, when Gauff rediscovers her game, she keeps it around for a few events. She may be able to make Mboko hit one more ball than she likes, a few too many times. Winner: Gauff