Francesco Passaro of Italy is set to compete in his home tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome, taking on Chun-Hsin Tseng in the first round of the ATP 1000 event. This match will take place on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, with an expected start time of 2:20 PM UK time, 9:20 AM US ET, and 6:20 AM US PT. Fans can catch the action on Sky Sports Tennis in the UK and the Tennis Channel in the US, with online streaming available through Sky Go and Tennis Channel.
Passaro is making a comeback after dealing with a leg injury that kept him from playing for the past month. His last appearance on the court was at a Challenger event in Napoli where he faced a tough first-round loss to Elias Ymer. This season has been challenging for Passaro, having participated in only three tournaments since the Australian Open, culminating in a 1-2 win/loss record at the tour level.
On the other hand, Chun-Hsin Tseng has successfully navigated through the qualifying rounds with two solid victories. However, his overall performance on clay this season has not been strong, with several first-round exits at events like the Bucharest Open and BMW Open. Despite their struggles, both players find themselves just outside the top 100 in the world rankings, separated by only one place.
The two players have faced each other once before, where Tseng came out on top with a 6-3, 6-3 victory in the semi-finals of a clay Challenger event in Vicenza last year. Given Passaro’s recent inactivity and lack of match fitness, projections lean toward Tseng defeating him again, potentially in a three-set match.
Overall, this matchup presents an intriguing clash of players at different points in their respective careers, and it will be interesting to see how Passaro fares in front of his home crowd. Fans remain hopeful that his local support and determination will bolster his performance despite recent setbacks.