Novak Djokovic vs. Salvatore Caruso 9/16/20 Rome Open Tennis Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Novak Djokovic returns to the court after that shocking default at the US Open in the fourth round. Will Djokovic be focused on the task at hand, or will he feel stressed and potentially allow the Italian to cause an upset?

Salvatore Caruso came through an extremely long and tough first-round encounter against Tennys Sandgren which saw the match momentum turn so many times. Caruso played very well but he will have to find another level in his game here if he is to stand a chance against the world No.1, Novak Djokovic. Caruso might also be very tired coming into this match as it was a very physically draining encounter yesterday/ I expect Caruso will not be confident in his ability against Djokovic and this might be a way for him just to get some more practice in before leaving the tournament today.

Novak Djokovic will want to bounce back here in Rome after being shockingly defaulted at the US Open against Pablo Carreno Busta for hitting a line judge with a ball accidentally. Djokovic did not do that intentionally and he will be very dissapointed that he was not able to claim his 18th Grand Slam title in New York. Djokovic knows that it is going to be extremely difficult for him to win Roland Garros this year, as Nadal is the clear favourite, however he will want to get a lot of matches under his belt on clay in order to fully prepare himself for the potential task at hand.

This is going to be the second meeting between both players, with Novak Djokovic leading the head to head 1-0. These two met in Roland Garros last year and Djokovic came through that match easily in straight sets. Djokovic is going to win this one with no issue in my opinion. Caruso just does not have the game to push the 17x Grand Slam champion and he will be physically exhausted after that long and draining match against Tennys Sandgren in the first round. I expect Djokovic to come out and dominate this match and win it in straight sets.