In full expansion, with more participation than ever before and with a calendar at the level of a Grand Slamthe Madrid Masters 1000 entered the circuit with the best rackets of the moment and welcomed the impact of Carlos Alcaraz who invaded the Caja Mágica as the current champion and as a great sensation of the current tennis.
Standard-bearer of the new generation that has arrived, with a Grand Slam title in his backpack, experienced at the top of the world rankings he intends to return to and has nine trophies on his record, three this season, the most recently last Sunday in barcelona, Alcaraz is Madrid’s great claim and the rival to beat.
It is 2022 that the Murcian player joins professional tennis. He arrived at the Caja Mágica then with great hopes, also after winning the Conde de Godó, like today and in his first Masters 1000, in Miami, as the definitive letter of introduction. The Spaniard did not doubt that he was able to win in Madrid after defeating players like Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Alexander Zverev, in the final.
It is no longer an unknown quantity, a revelation Alcaraz. It has no surprise factor. It’s not fresh air. Is a facta man to remember in every big competition.
Carlos Alcaraz ran a great event in Madrid that went from 56 to 96 players and that its duration was extended to two weeks. It is now at the level of events like Indian Wells or Miami that are bidding for ‘fifth Grand Slam’ consideration.
The competition that was born twenty-one years ago, in 2002, on a fast indoor track, like 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, the WTA table was included and it became a great mixed event that increased its budget, it moved from Casa de Campo to Caja Mágicawith three first-class stadiums, with retractable roofs and other outdoor courts that gave life to a first-class sports venue.
The Mutua Madrid Open now arrives, at the gates of Roland Garros, with doubts surrounding Rafa Nadal as well as Novak Djokovic and to a new, developing generation, 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 favorite, could run into the British Andy Murray, winner of 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 Spaniard Martín Landaluce, the Jordanian Abdellah Shelbayh and the Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka who could be the rival of the Russian Rublev if he had previously surpassed the American Maxime Cressy. Holger Rune awaits either the Colombian Daniel Elahi Galán or the Kazakh Alexander Bublik, the Norwegian Casper Ruud an opponent from the previous stage.
THE RACE FOR NUMBER ONE
Novak Djokovic’s absence due to a right elbow injury is fueling the race for number one in the ATP rankings. The first two favorites of Caja Mágica, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev, head to head. The Spaniard, last year’s champion, is defending 1000 points. If he lifts the trophy again in two weeks, the Murcian is sure to return to the top if he plays a match at the Masters 1000 in Rome, the next tournament in Madrid.
Alcaraz started the week just 365 points behind the Serbian that he could not defend the semifinal achieved last year.
Medvedev did not like clay and did not hide it. The world number 3 will participate in Madrid for the fourth time. He has yet to get past the round of 16 in 2021. Not last season, he will add little to what he does at Caja Mágica. It is 1895 points away from number one. Winner of four trophies so far this season, he will play his second brick dust event after Monte Carlo.
The Mutua Madrid Open is a challenge for the Russian as well as his compatriot Andrey Rublevthe Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas or the Norwegian Casper Ruud.
Rublev made a qualitative leap two weeks ago when he won his first Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo. He also arrived in Madrid as a finalist in Banja Luka where he lost to Dusan Lajovic while Tsitsipas, runner-up in Barcelona, beaten by Alcaraz, will not release his record until 2023.
Finalist in Madrid in 2019, he comes to Caja Mágica to take advantage of his virtues on earth and end the curse of what is happening this year. The Greek did not come to Madrid in depression like the Norwegian Casper Ruud, still far from the level of other courses. The fourth player in the world, who won Estoril this 2023, is far from the level of last year, the finalist of two Grand Slams -Roland Garros and US Open-, or runner-up in the ATP Finals.
Holger Rune, the other sensation of the new Alcaraz generation, made his debut in Madrid. The champion in Munich has grown in the competition that also considers others such as the Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime who will debut on clay on this course or Taylor Fritz, still waiting to achieve a good result on clay.
ALEXANDER ZVEREV, THE UNKNOWN
Currently installed in the sixteenth place in the ranking, Zverev enters, who became number two in the world almost a year ago. A severe injury in the semifinal of Roland Garros against Rafael Nadal ruined the progress of the sixteen-year-old player from Hamburg, a finalist in Madrid in 2022, which Alcaraz surpassed.
Zverev already knows what it’s like to win the Magic Box. He did this in 2021 and in 2018. With nineteen titles behind him, he intends to look for the turning point of his recovery in Madrid in a year where the semifinals in Dubai are his best record. He reached the round of 16 in Monte Carlo, outplayed by Medvedev and in Munich, which he has won twice, he failed to win any games.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
