Santiago Aparicio |
Madrid (EFE) who invades the Caja Mágica as current champion and as a great sensation of current tennis.
Standard-bearer of the new generation that has already arrived, with a Grand Slam title in his backpack, experienced at the top of the world rankings to which he intends to return and with nine trophies already in his record, three this season, the most recent last Sunday in Barcelona, Alcaraz is the great claim of Madrid and the rival to beat.
It was 2022 that of the consolidation of the Murcian player in professional tennis. He arrived at the Caja Mágica then with expectation, after also winning the Conde de Godó, as now and with his first Masters 1000, in Miami, as his definitive letter of introduction.
The Spaniard who managed to win in Madrid did not doubt after beating players like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Alexander Zverev, in the final.
It is no longer an unknown quantity, a revelation Alcaraz. It does not have the surprise factor. It’s not fresh air. He is a reality, a guy to keep in mind in every big competition.
Carlos Alcaraz runs into a great event in Madrid that has gone from 56 to 96 players and that has extended its duration to two weeks. He is already at the level of events like Indian Wells or Miami that were bidding for the consideration of ‘fifth Grand Slam’.
The competition that was born twenty-one years ago, in 2002, on a fast indoor track, such as the Masters Series, heir to the event organized in Stuttgart until then, has grown.
It was conceived as an ATP tournament and in its eighth edition, in 2009, it was already included in the WTA draw and became a great mixed event that multiplied its budget, it moved from the Casa de Campo to the Caja Mágica, with three stadiums first level, with a retractable roof and other external courts that gave life to a first level sports venue.
The Mutua Madrid Open now arrives, at the gates of Roland Garros, with doubts surrounding Rafael Nadal and also Novak Djokovic and with a new generation, thriving, led by Alcaraz but with the Danish Holger Rune, the Russian Andry Rublev or the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in full swing.
Alcaraz will start against the winner of the duel between the Finn Emil Ruusuvuori or the French Ugo Humbert; Daniil Medvedev, second favourite, can run into the British Andy Murray, winner in Madrid twice (2008 and 2015);
Tsitsipas awaits the winner of the first round match between the British Kyle Edmund or the Austrian Dominik Thiem, one of the guests of the tournament along with the young Spanish Martín Landaluce, the Jordanian Abdellah Shelbayh and the Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka who may be the rival of the Russian Rublev if before he surpasses the American Maxime Cressy. Holger Rune awaits either the Colombian Daniel Elahi Galán or the Kazakh Alexander Bublik, the Norwegian Casper Ruud an opponent who will come from the previous phase.
The race for number one
The absence of Novak Djokovic due to the right elbow injury encourages the race for number one in the ATP ranking.
The first two favorites of the Caja Mágica, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev, head to head. The Spaniard, champion last year, defends 1000 points. If he lifts the trophy again in two weeks, the Murcian is sure to return to the top if he plays a single game of the Masters 1000 in Rome, the next tournament in Madrid.
Alcaraz starts the week just 365 points behind the Serbian who will not be able to defend the semifinal achieved last year.
Medvedev does not like clay and does not hide it. The world number 3 will participate in Madrid for the fourth time.
He has never made it past the round of 16 in 2021. Absent last season, he will add little to what he does in the Caja Mágica. It is 1895 points away from number one. Winner of four trophies so far this season, he will play his second event on brick dust after Monte Carlo.
The Mutua Madrid Open is a challenge for the Russian and also for his compatriot Andrey Rublev, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and the Norwegian Casper Ruud.
Rublev made a quality leap two weeks ago when he got his first Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo. He also arrives in Madrid as a finalist in Banja Luka where he lost to Dusan Lajovic while Tsitsipas, runner-up in Barcelona, beaten by Alcaraz, has not yet released his record so far in 2023
Finalist in Madrid in 2019, he arrives at the Caja Mágica to exploit his virtues on land and end the curse of what is going on this year. The Greek does not arrive in Madrid in depression like the Norwegian Casper Ruud, still distanced from the level of other courses. The fourth player in the world, winner in Estoril this 2023, is far from the level of last year, finalist of two Grand Slam -Roland Garros and US Open-, or runner-up in the ATP Finals.
Holger Rune, the other sensation of the new generation of Alcaraz, makes his debut in Madrid. Champion in Munich arrives grown to the competition that also takes into account others such as the Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime who will debut on clay in this course or Taylor Fritz, still waiting to achieve a good result on clay.
Alexander Zverev, the unknown
Currently installed in sixteenth place in the ranking, Zverev breaks in, who became number two in the world almost a year ago. A severe injury in the Roland Garros semifinal against Rafael Nadal ruined the progression of the sixteen-year-old player from Hamburg, a finalist in Madrid in 2022, surpassed by Alcaraz.
Zverev already knows what it is to win in the Magic Box. He did it in 2021 and 2018. With nineteen titles behind him, he intends to find the turning point of his recovery in Madrid in a year where the semifinals in Dubai have been his best record. He reached the round of 16 in Monte Carlo, surpassed by Medvedev and in Munich, which he has won twice, he failed to win any game.