Indefatigable American baseliner Brandon Nakashima endured a horror start to the campaign, going 1-3 in their first three tournaments.
2025 ATP Tour
Masters 1000
Italian Open
Foro Italico, Rome, Italy (Outdoor Clay)
Selected Round of 64 Matches- 9th May
Brandon Nakashima (28) 0.54 vs Jordan Thompson 1.43
He then enjoyed a little purple patch, reaching the quarters in Dleray Beach before an excellent semifinal run in Acapulco (where he didn’t drop a set en route to the semis). He started his clay-court season well, reaching the semifinals in Houston. He struggled in some of the more elite clay-court events, losing back-to-back first-round matches in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona. He showed more tenacity in Madrid, beating Offner and Cobolli before squandering a lead over Daniil Medvedev. Nakashima has excellent court coverage and will look to overpower Thompson from the back of the court.
Energizer bunny Jordan Thompson enjoyed a solid start to the year, reaching the quarterfinals on home soil at the Brisbane International. He has been scratchy since then, with the highlight of his season being a 3rd round run in Miami. The pugnacious Aussie showed some characteristic resolve in his Rome opener, coming back from a set down to beat French servebot Giovanni Mpethsi Perricard 3-6, 6-3, 7-6. That victory over the Frenchman was his first win in Rome (he lost in the first round on debut last season). Thompson is yet to reach a clay-court final in his career. A textbook counterpuncher, Thompson is at his best when he can redirect pace (which probably explains why he prospered against big-hitting Mpetshi Perricard).
The Verdict: Nakashima to win in straight sets at 1.32- Nakashima leads the head-to-head 4-2, winning their most recent encounter at Wimbledon last year. Nakashima clearly enjoys playing Thompson and should improve his head-to-head superiority to 5-2. He hits bigger groundstrokes that can penetrate these slow surfaces. He also has the athleticism to match Thompson’s psychotic work-rate.
