Italian Open 2024 Prediction and Betting Tips: Tsitispas tipped to upstage Djokovic

The final 1000 series tournament of the European clay season begins in Rome this week with Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek the respective top seeds for the Italian Open at the Foro Italico.

Djokovic is a strong favourite for the men's event following the withdrawals of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, although the Serb hasn't won a title this season so he'll be playing with a point to prove.

Swiatek once again underlined her credentials as the best female clay courter of her generation when winning in Madrid on Saturday. She travels to Rome hoping to maintain her fine form on the eve of the French Open.

Djokovic skipped Madrid with an elbow problem and the Serb will hope that his cautious approach pays dividends in the Italian capital and in Paris at the end of the month.

However, he has not looked close to his almost-unbeatable best in 2024 and it could pay to oppose him with Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is enjoying a fruitful clay season.

Greek ace Tsitsipas won the Monte Carlo Masters, then followed up with a run to the final in Barcelona before a shock second-round defeat to Thiago Monteiro in Madrid.

However, conditions in Rome should prove more suitable for Tsitsipas, who reached the final in the Eternal City in 2022 and the semi-finals last season.

While he's yet to win this title, the 25-year-old has suffered defeat at the hands of top-class rivals, losing to Rafael Nadal, Sinner, Djokovic (twice) and Daniil Medvedev over the last five seasons.

Sinner is absent, Djokovic and Nadal do not look like the forces of old and Medvedev remains hard to weigh up on clay, so it could be Tsitsipas's time to shine.

There are question marks over many of the key contenders for the men's title and that could open the door for Mariana Navone to claim a shock victory.

Navone won a Challenger title in Cagliari last week having previously made the final of two ATP clay events in 2024 and the Argentinian, now a career-high 31st in the world, has been showing rapid improvement.

He could meet Alexander Zverev in round three but his draw has the potential to open up if he can battle past the German.

The women's tournament began on Tuesday but Swiatek and the other seeded players will enter the fray from Thursday onwards.

Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina took down Swiatek before winning this title last season and she looks to have the tools to mount a successful defence.

After reaching the Miami Open final in March, Rybakina beat Swiatek again on the way to the Stuttgart title and she was only just denied another crack at her in Madrid, losing out to Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals.

She's playing as well as anyone on the WTA Tour and she's shown herself to be well equipped for conditions at the Foro Italico.