Big names shape the women’s and men’s singles field at the Mutua Madrid Open, the second Masters 1000 of the season, contested on clay, as the event revealed its main draw on Monday, staged at Caja Magica.
A new edition of the Mutua Madrid Open is underway in Spain’s capital city, reuniting the world’s best tennis players, bidding to emerge victorious at the end of the path, leading to the prestigious trophy at Caja Magica.
Home for the combined men and women Masters 1000 tournament, the vibrant city held the WTA and ATP draw ceremonies on Monday with defending champions Iga Swiatek and Andrey Rublev present alongside tournament director Feliciano Lopez.
An intriguing men’s draw sees 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic and world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz drawn in the same half of the draw, which eventually could lead to a semifinal clash between the top forces.
Competing in Madrid for the first time since 2022, the Serbian, chasing his 100th ATP title, awaits a qualifier or world No. 44 Matteo Arnaldi to open proceedings on Spanish soil.
The 37-year-old is seeded to play either world No. 22 Ugo Humbert or American Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round.
Furthermore, Indian Wells reigning champion Jack Draper is on a quarterfinal collision course with the three-time Madrid winner.
For his part, Alcaraz has been building his form on the red clay surface, eyeing Roland-Garros’s title defense.
The 21-year-old went from strength to strength to claim his maiden Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters crown after beating Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who enjoyed an extraordinary run of his own.
Last week, the Murcia native made a solid run to the final in Barcelona, where he fell to the spirited performance displayed by Dane Holger Rune, who lifted a career-first ATP 500 trophy at the event on Sunday.
Continuing to impress thus far into the 2025 season with his consistency, the young Danish player guaranteed his place back in the Top 10 following a 7-6 (6) 6-2 victory over the two-time Barcelona winner, who called the physio twice in the second set due to a leg injury.
Whether it can be a recurrent physical issue for the second-seeded in Madrid is yet to be seen.
Crossing paths with the 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov, world No. 18 Stefanos Tsitsipas, as the sixth seed Alex de Minaur, who has found his groove on the clay surface, is a strong possibility.
Alcaraz will kickstart his campaign against Yoshihito Nishioka or Zizou Bergs.
Moreover, Rune is in the bottom half of the second quarter; the eighth seed will square off against Fabian Marozan or Flavio Cobolli in his opening round.
Top seed Alexander Zverev comes off the back of a confidence-boosting result achieved on home soil last Sunday. He is a strong candidate for the title if he carries momentum to Madrid, a tournament he has won twice before.
Competing in Munich at the event’s first edition since becoming an ATP 500 venue, the German, whose built-to-the-clay swing has been far from ideal, claimed two consecutive match wins in a row for the first time since the Miami Open en route to the final.
In Sunday’s championship match, the 28-year-old toppled American Ben Shelton 6-2, 6-4 to capture his 24th career title at tour level.
Zverev and defending champion Rublev have fallen in the same quarter of the draw and could meet in the quarterfinals.
The world number two will face off against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut or Jaume Munar to launch his campaign in Madrid.
Meanwhile, the seventh seed will open by playing Gael Monfils or a qualifier.
Shelton and in-form Frenchman Arthur Fils are also in the first quarter.
Fils, 20, who comes from back-to-back quarterfinals in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, could play the top German racquet in the fourth round for the sixth time on tour.
Brazilian Joo Fonseca also features in the third quarter, led by Draper. The 18-year-old will contest the venue for the first time in his young career.
