ROME, May 9 (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic will have little chance to reflect on their epic Madrid final as they cross the Mediterranean to continue their burgeoning rivalry as top seeds in this week's Rome Masters.
Djokovic claimed his third straight victory in finals against Nadal on Sunday to stretch his unbeaten run in 2011 to 32 matches.
But the red-hot Serbian will have to be content with second seeding at the Foro Italico, where the Spaniard's dominance on the red clay has brought him victory in five of the past six years.
Djokovic, who picked up the crown when Nadal missed out in 2008, looks to have an easier draw with a potential quarter-final matchup against Sweden's Robin Soderling and semi-final against out-of-sorts Briton Andy Murray.
Nadal appears to have a much tougher ask, opening with a tricky match against another left-hander Thomaz Bellucci who defeated Murray in Madrid before pushing Djokovic close in the semi-finals.
Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and David Ferrer, finalists in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, could then stand in the champion's way before another potential semi-final showdown against Roger Federer.
Handed first-round byes, the top eight seeds begin their campaigns on Tuesday.
The pick of Monday's first-round matches pits 12th seed Andy Roddick against Gilles Simon on centre court at (1100 BST) before Frenchman Gael Monfils, seeded 10, meets Japanese qualifier Kei Nishikori.
The centre court stands are expected to be close to their 10,000 capacity at around 1830 when local favourite Potito Starace takes on Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis and Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Songa meet in the late match with the winner facing third seed Federer.
Djokovic claimed his third straight victory in finals against Nadal on Sunday to stretch his unbeaten run in 2011 to 32 matches.
But the red-hot Serbian will have to be content with second seeding at the Foro Italico, where the Spaniard's dominance on the red clay has brought him victory in five of the past six years.
Djokovic, who picked up the crown when Nadal missed out in 2008, looks to have an easier draw with a potential quarter-final matchup against Sweden's Robin Soderling and semi-final against out-of-sorts Briton Andy Murray.
Nadal appears to have a much tougher ask, opening with a tricky match against another left-hander Thomaz Bellucci who defeated Murray in Madrid before pushing Djokovic close in the semi-finals.
Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and David Ferrer, finalists in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, could then stand in the champion's way before another potential semi-final showdown against Roger Federer.
Handed first-round byes, the top eight seeds begin their campaigns on Tuesday.
The pick of Monday's first-round matches pits 12th seed Andy Roddick against Gilles Simon on centre court at (1100 BST) before Frenchman Gael Monfils, seeded 10, meets Japanese qualifier Kei Nishikori.
The centre court stands are expected to be close to their 10,000 capacity at around 1830 when local favourite Potito Starace takes on Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis and Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Songa meet in the late match with the winner facing third seed Federer.
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