Carlos Alcaraz hopes to become the first player in ATP Masters 1000 history to win three straight titles at the Mutua Madrid Open this coming fortnight. But the World No. 3 will put him to the test in the Spanish capital as Monday’s draw presents a challenging route.
Alcaraz is making his clay-court debut in Europe after missing Barcelona and Monte-Carlo because of a right arm ailment. The 20-year-old might play Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the third round after starting his championship defence against either Arthur Rinderknech or Alexander Shevchenko. Possible opponents in the fourth round include Munich winner Jan-Lennard Struff, who fell to Alcaraz in the championship game in Madrid the previous year.
Alcaraz, the 2022 and 2023 Madrid champion, may face either seventh seed Andrey Rublev or 11th seed Holger Rune in the quarterfinals if he can get through those tests. In his opening encounter, Rune goes up against Australian Alexei Popyrin or Bucharest finalist Mariano Navone, while Rublev goes up against Daniel Evans or a qualifier.
Rafael Nadal, the five-time champion record holder, keeps making progress in Madrid. The American wild card Darwin Blanch will be the first opponent for the Spaniard, who advanced to the second round of the Tour last week in Barcelona. If he advances, he will face 10th seed Alex de Minaur. The 37-year-old defeated Dominic Thiem in the final of the clay-court tournament in 2017 to win his last championship.
Nadal will be looking to get revenge for last week’s loss to De Minaur in Barcelona if they square off. In their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, the Spaniard has a 3-2 advantage over the Australian.
Alcaraz and fourth seed Alexander Zverev are in the same half. The two-time Madrid champion German opens up against either Borna Coric or a qualifier. Zverev is the seeded opponent Hubert Hurkacz will face in the quarterfinals. In the third round, the Pole—who earlier this month captured his maiden clay-court championship in Estoril—may take on Frenchman Arthur Fils, a member of the #NextGenATP.
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