Carlos Alcaraz’s path to changing into the eighth participant to win the Sunshine Double was set on Monday. But the Spaniard might want to overcome a collection of inauspicious checks if he’s to defend his Miami Open offered by Itau title and maintain onto prime spot within the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
The Spaniard lifted the trophy in south Florida final yr and arrives this week off the again of a run to the title in Indian Wells, which propelled him again to World No. 1. The 19-year-old should win his fourth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Miami to stay on prime, although, the place he begins towards Argentine Facundo Bagnis or a qualifier.
Alcaraz may face former World No. 1 and two-time Miami champion Andy Murray within the third spherical and in-form American Tommy Paul within the fourth spherical. The prime seed is seeded to face ninth seed Taylor Fritz or seventh seed Holger Rune within the quarter-finals and will renew his rivalry towards Jannik Sinner within the semi-finals.
The Italian Sinner, who may meet Andrey Rublev within the fourth spherical and third seed Casper Ruud within the quarter-finals, misplaced to Alcaraz within the Indian Wells semi-finals final week of their fifth ATP Head2Head assembly.
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The third seed Casper Ruud reached his first ATP Masters 1000 closing in Miami final yr and will probably be hoping the hard-court occasion can as soon as once more present him with a springboard to construct from. Holding a 4-5 file on the season, the Norwegian opens towards Ilya Ivashka or a qualifier and is seeded to satisfy Alexander Zverev within the fourth spherical. The German Zverev begins towards Arthur Rinderknech or Taro Daniel.
In the underside half of the draw, Daniil Medvedev will look to start one other profitable run when he opens towards Bernabe Zapata Miralles or Roberto Carballes Baena. The 27-year-old received 19 matches in a row earlier than Alcaraz defeated him within the Indian Wells closing.
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The fourth seed may meet Matteo Berrettini in a blockbuster fourth-round conflict and Hubert Hurkacz or Cameron Norrie within the quarter-finals. Hurkacz lifted the largest trophy of his profession in Miami in 2021 and reached the semi-finals final yr.
Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will look to bounce again from an opening-round exit in Indian Wells when he takes on Richard Gasquet or a qualifier. The Greek, who loved a run to the quarter-finals in Miami in 2021, is seeded to satisfy seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime within the final eight. The Canadian Auger-Aliassime, at the moment at a career-high No. 6 within the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, may play Indian Wells semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe within the fourth spherical. Auger-Aliassime reached the semi-finals in Miami on his debut in 2019.
#NextGenATP American Ben Shelton will play Chinese wild card Juncheng Shang or Adrian Mannarino on his debut in Maimi, with Hurkacz a possible third-round opponent.
Source: www.atptour.com