Lorenzo Musetti defeated Otto Virtanen 6–3, 6–2 in the first round of the Rome Masters on clay, confirming pre-match odds that heavily favoured the Italian. Musetti, priced at 1.08, controlled the match against the qualifier Virtanen, who entered at 9.61. The Italian's dominance on his preferred surface was evident in a straightforward victory that required little over an hour. This result maintains Musetti's strong positioning at the Italian Open, where clay remains his natural habitat and where he will face stiffer opposition in the round of 32.