The clay-court season rolls into the Caja Magica, where the world’s biggest stars will compete for an ATP Masters 1000 title at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz leads the field as the top seed in Madrid, while Daniil Medvedev aims to close the gap on Novak Djokovic in the battle for No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch in the Spanish capital.
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Alcaraz Defending Champion: Last year, Alcaraz arrived in Madrid off the back of winning the title in Barcelona. The 19-year-old then went on to lift the trophy in the Spanish capital, earning statement wins against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Twelve months on and the top seed enters the clay-court event in the same circumstances, having defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Barcelona final on Sunday. Looking to claim the Barcelona-Madrid double again this year, the Spaniard begins against Ugo Humbert or Emil Ruusuvuori.
Battle For No. 1: With Novak Djokovic missing Madrid due to injury, Alcaraz and Medvedev will look to maintain pressure in the battle for No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Alcaraz, who is defending 1000 points from last year’s title run, is currently 365 points behind Djokovic. If Alcaraz wins Madrid, he is guaranteed to pass Djokovic for World No. 1 just by playing a match in Rome regardless of how Djokovic performs in Italy.
World No. 3 Medvedev trails Djokovic by 1,895 points. The 27-year-old, who has won four tour-level titles this year, is not defending any points in Madrid because he missed last year’s event with an injury. It will be Medvedev’s second clay-court tournament of the season after he advanced to the quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo.
Red-Hot Rublev: Andrey Rublev captured his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown in Monte-Carlo earlier this month when he defeated Holger Rune in the final. The 25-year-old backed that up with a run to the championship match in Banja Luka. With confidence high, the fifth seed will aim to win his 14th tour-level title in Madrid, where he reached the quarter-finals last year.
Tsitsipas Seeking First Title Of Year: After reaching the quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo, Tsitsipas started to find his best level in Barcelona, where he reached the title match. The 2019 Madrid finalist, who has lifted four trophies on clay, will look to build on that in the Spanish capital and clinch his third ATP Masters 1000 crown.
Can Ruud Regain Form? Casper Ruud has struggled to find his best form this season, suffering third-round defeats in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo. The Norwegian did respond in Estoril, where he lifted his ninth clay-court title earlier this month. Ruud’s best result in Madrid came in 2021 when he advanced to the semi-finals. Can he enjoy a similar run this fortnight?
Top 10 Threats: Rune, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz are seeded sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, in Madrid. Rune, who is making his Madrid debut, reached the final in Monte-Carlo and lifted his fourth tour-level trophy in Munich last week, while Fritz advanced to the semi-finals at the same events.
Auger-Aliassime will be competing on clay for the first time this season when he takes to court in Madrid. The Canadian advanced to the quarter-finals last year and opens against Jason Kubler or Banja Luka champion Dusan Lajovic.
Trio Aiming To Make Moves In Turin Race: Karen Khachanov, Cameron Norrie and Tommy Paul are ninth, 10th and 11th, respectively, in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. Khachanov reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open and in Miami earlier this season, while Norrie captured a clay-court title at the ATP 500 event in Rio de Janeiro. Paul enjoyed a run to the last four at the Australian Open and advanced to the title match in Acapulco. All three will be aiming for deep runs in Madrid to move inside the Top 8 in the Race.
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Former Champions Zverev & Murray In Action: Alexander Zverev and Andy Murray hold fond memories in Madrid. Germany's Zverev lifted the trophy in 2018 and 2021, while former World No. 1 Murray triumphed in 2008 and 2015. Zverev, who has lifted six tour-level trophies on clay, reached the third round in Monte-Carlo earlier this month. Murray’s best result this season was a run to the final in Doha.
Potential Second-Round Blockbusters: The Madrid draw has thrown up several potential early blockbusters. Medvedev could face Murray in his opener and Tsitsipas could meet former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem in the second round. Rublev will face former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in his opening match, should the Swiss defeat Maxime Cressy in the first round.
Koolhof/Skupski Defending Champs: Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski overcame Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah to clinch the crown in Madrid last year. Seeking their first title of the season, the top seeds will face competition from Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury and Roland Garros champions Marcelo Arevalo/Jean-Julien Rojer in Madrid. Singles stars Rublev, Auger-Aliassime and Fritz are in the draw.