Champion Carlos Alcaraz knows his way in the Caja Mágica | ATP Tour

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Champion Alcaraz knows his way in the Caja Mágica

The draw was held this Monday at the Caja Mágica

April 22, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz has won the last two editions of the Mutua Madrid Open.
By ATPTour.com/es Staff

The die is cast at the Mutua Madrid Open. This Monday the main draw was set up at the Caja Mágica, where the stars of the ATP Tour will seek one of the most coveted trophies on the calendar. With the assistance of Jaume Munar as the innocent hand and the presence of director Feliciano López at the ceremony, the clay awaits the best tennis players in the world with the Manolo Santana Stadium as an exceptional setting.

Carlos Alcaraz will begin his candidacy for a third consecutive trophy at the Caja Mágica on a path full of challenges. The champion of the last two editions, who will debut against Alexander Shevchenko or Arthur Rinderknech, will coexist in a sector with the shadow of Lorenzo Musetti as a possible third round match. Players with experience in ATP Masters 1000 clay finals such as Andrey Rublev or Holger Rune draw a path towards the possible truly demanding semi-finals. The possibility of achieving an unprecedented milestone at the Mutua Madrid Open is placed in the hands of the Murcian, who faces one of the key tournaments of the clay season.

On this side of the draw, two-time champion Alexander Zverev will want to reclaim a throne he has dominated strongly in the past. The German will walk in a sector full of Latin talent, with the figures of Facundo Díaz Acosta, Francisco Cerúndolo and Tomás Martín Etcheverry as possible rivals at the beginning of the tournament. The presence of the American Taylor Fritz, with the first final of his career on hot clay in his hands, or the Polish Hubert Hurkacz, whose serve could wreak havoc at the altitude of the Spanish capital, make up a highly difficult scenario for tennis. Hamburg.

The figure of Jannik Sinner arrives with special respect in Madrid. The player to beat at the start of the 2024 season, who starts for the first time as the top seed in the final draw, will delight the Spanish capital with a horizon full of obstacles. The Italian could make his debut against his compatriot Lorenzo Sonego and will face a sector with inspired players, such as the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov or the Norwegian Casper Ruud, boosted after winning the biggest trophy of his career in Barcelona.

Also at the top of the draw, Daniil Medvedev will continue to build his relationship with clay in a special setting. In the European clay tournament with the most meters above sea level, the ball of the third seed promises to be an untouchable element for many rivals. The current champion of Rome will try to adjust his strokes to the clay, in a sector where the figure of the five-time champion Rafael Nadal could appear on the horizon of the quarterfinals.

The Mallorcan will debut against the American Darwin Blanch and could meet again with Alex de Miñaur in the second round. The shadow of Stefanos Tsitsipas, champion of the first ATP Masters 1000 of the year on the surface, hardens a sector loaded like few others. Medvedev, who has never made it past the round of 16 in the Spanish capital, could debut on clay with the Italian Matteo Arnaldi or the Australian Christopher O’Connell.

See the full table