The start of the day’s play was initially postponed by 30 minutes until 11:30 am local time (CEST), before Monte-Carlo champion Andrey Rublev kick-started his campaign with a straight-sets win against Alex Molcan on Court Pietrangeli.

The rain returned again shortly after the conclusion of that match, however, leaving a host of big names waiting to start their campaign at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000. They include second seed Carlos Alcaraz who will guarantee himself a return to No. 1 in the next edition of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings simply by taking the court for his Rome debut against Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Third seed Daniil Medvedev later meets Emil Ruusuvuori on Court Pietrangeli, where 2017 champion Alexander Zverev also clashes with David Goffin. On Grand Stand Arena, fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas meets Rome debutant Nuno Borges.