Djokovic seeded in Rome Masters first round

ROME - Serbia's Novak Djokovic, the world number one in men's tennis singles, will be seeded in the first round of the Rome Masters tournament and was on Monday drawn to face the winner of the tie between Russian Roman Safiullin and a qualifier in the second round.

Djokovic is the top seed at the tournament.

Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic will play a qualifier in the opening round and, potentially, Norwegian Casper Ruud in the second round.

Another Serbian, Dusan Lajovic, will face Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the first round.

Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who will face a qualifier in the opening round, is in the same half of the draw with second-seeded reigning champion Daniil Medvedev of Russia.

Italian Jannik Sinner and Spaniard Alcaraz will skip the Rome Masters due to injuries.

Last season, Djokovic was knocked out by Dane Holger Ruune in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

The Serbian has won the event six times, including most recently in 2022.

The prize money at the May 8-19 Rome Masters is 7,877,020 euros.