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Top seed Dusan Lajovic will take on Aljaz Bedene on Court 1 while No. 2 seed Benoit Paire will face Bradley Klahn on Court 3 in their opening round qualifying matches at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Saturday.

Lajovic, who was a surprise finalist at Monte Carlo last month, will play Bedene, who reached the third round at the Foro Italico in 2018, for the first time while it will also be a maiden meeting for Paire, who produced impressive performances when defeating Richard Gasquet and Diego Schwartzman in the opening two rounds last year, and the left hander Klahn.

No. 3 seed Cameron Norrie will get his quest for a first main draw spot here underway with a tough encounter against Peter Gojowczyk on Court 3. The German took out world No. 12 Sam Querrey on his way to a third round finish here in 2018.

Promising youngster Miomir Kecmanovic, a former junior world No. 1, stands in No. 4 seed Hubert Hurkacz’s place in the second round of qualifying, while wildcard Jacopo Berrettini will be hoping he can give the home crowd something to cheer about when he takes on the No. 7 seed Taylor Fritz in the third match on Court 1.

Other Italians in the draw include Filippo Baldi, who will play the experienced Martin Klizan on Court 1, Riccardo Balzerani, who faces Australia’s Bernard Tomic on Court 4, and Lorenzo Musetti, who will meet Casper Ruud of Norway on Court Pietrangeli.

Qualifying takes place on Saturday and Sunday with the men’s main draw beginning on Sunday.