Will there be an all-German matchup in the Eternal City?
At the 83rd edition of the Italian Open, which will once again be held at the Foro Italico in Rome this year, there could be an all-German matchup as early as the second round. Madrid finalist Alexander Zverev, who has a first-round bye as the number two seed, will face the winner of this first-round match.
At least the top bookmakers are betting that Zhizhen Zhang will come out on top against Daniel Altmaier, considering it very likely that the clay-court specialist from Kempen will win. We, however, consider this assessment quite risky.
It’s true that Zhizhen Zhang (once ranked No. 31 in the world) has slipped to No. 239 in the ATP world rankings after an injury-plagued 2025. In fact, however, not only did he win his only singles match against Daniel Altmaier to date in straight sets, 2-0, but he also already has one more win (four) in 2026 than the generally out-of-form German (three).
Nevertheless, the clay court in the Eternal City, which is considered somewhat slower and has a higher bounce, suits the Kempen native’s topspin-heavy game better. In what is likely to be a close match, we therefore consider the Zhang vs. Altmaier prediction that the outcome will only be decided in three sets to be the most plausible.
Basically, it’s definitely a 50-50 situation. The German is still searching for his form, although he did manage an impressive victory against Pedro Martinez recently. And the Chinese player must take advantage of the “protected ranking” that spared him from qualifying in Rome to rack up as many wins as possible in the main draw in order to fight his way back into at least the top 100 in the world rankings.
Zhizhen Zhang – Daniel Altmaier Head-to-Head Record
Head-to-Head: 1:0
The two players crossed paths nearly three years ago, facing off in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Hamburg European Open. Also on clay, Zhizhen Zhang won in straight sets 2-0 against Daniel Altmaier (6-4, 6-4).
Zhizhen Zhang – Daniel Altmaier Prediction
If the prediction that Daniel Altmaier will defeat Zhizhen Zhang comes true—though Altmaier has lost twelve of his 15 singles matches on the ATP Tour in the 2026 season—it would set up an all-German second-round match in the Eternal City. However, the Chinese returnee still has a say in the matter.
In addition to his head-to-head record, the man from Shanghai has the advantage that the former world No. 31 reached the quarterfinals in his only previous appearance at the Italian Open back in 2024 and won four of his five singles matches in Rome.
However, especially on the relatively slow clay court, the quality of the player from Kempen should not be underestimated. The German possesses strong physicality. If he can force long rallies with his versatile one-handed backhand, that should clearly work in his favor, especially since he also averages more aces than the Chinese player. We expect a close, evenly matched contest that has the potential to go the full distance of three sets.
For over 2.5 sets, Betano is offering odds of 2.20 on Zhizhen Zhang vs. Daniel Altmaier, which we’re betting four out of ten units on.
