Scouting Report: Two-time champ Alcaraz defends Madrid title, Sinner & Nadal compete

Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour

The clay-court season continues this week at the Caja Magica, where the world’s biggest stars will compete for the fourth ATP Masters 1000 title of the season at the Mutua Madrid Open.

Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will try to complete a hat-trick in the Spanish capital, where record five-time titlist Rafael Nadal continues his comeback. Top seed Jannik Sinner can close the gap on Novak Djokovic in the battle for No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch at the 12-day clay-court event.

1) Alcaraz chasing three in a row: Alcaraz will aim to become the first player to win three consecutive titles in the Spanish capital when he takes to court in Madrid as the second seed. The 20-year-old, who opens against Alexander Shevchenko or Arthur Rinderknech, has not competed since Miami in March due to a right arm injury. Alcaraz has won seven of his 13 tour-level titles on clay, and he is chasing his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown.

2) Nadal continues comeback: The record five-time Madrid champion continues his comeback from injury at the clay-court event. The 37-year-old Spaniard returned to action last week in Barcelona, where he beat Flavio Cobolli before he lost to Alex de Minaur in straight sets. Nadal opens against American wild card Darwin Blanch.

3) Top seed Sinner: Jannik Sinner has lifted a Tour-leading three titles in 2024, highlighted by his first major at the Australian Open and second ATP Masters 1000 crown in Miami. The Italian would move to within 330 PIF ATP Rankings points of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic if he wins his third Masters 1000 crown in Madrid. However, the 22-year-old has struggled to find his best level in the Spanish capital in the past, falling in the second round in 2021 and the third round in 2022.

4) Ruud, Tsitsipas arrive in form: Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas arrive in Madrid off the back of final runs in Barcelona. Ruud avenged his recent Monte-Carlo final defeat to Tsitsipas in the Spanish city, where he defeated the Greek in straight sets to win his first ATP 500 crown. Tsitsipas is 10-1 on European clay this year, while Ruud holds an 11-2 record on the surface in 2024.

5) Can Medvedev & Rublev get back on track? Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev have yet to find their best level on clay this season. Medvedev lost in the third round in Monte-Carlo, while Rublev suffered opening-round defeats in the Principality and Barcelona. Rublev’s best result in Madrid came in 2022 when he reached the quarter-finals. Medvedev, who captured his only clay-court tour-level crown in Rome last year, has advanced to the second round twice in the Spanish capital (2021, 23’).

6) Two-time champ Zverev: Alexander Zverev has often played his best in Madrid, winning the title in 2018 and 2021 before advancing to the final in 2022. The German, who holds a 19-4 record at the tournament, opens against Borna Coric or a qualifier.

7) Trio aiming to make moves in PIF ATP Live Race To Turin: Alex de Minaur, Grigor Dimitrov and Hubert Hurkacz are sixth, eighth and 10th, respectively, in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. Acapulco winner De Minaur reached the quarter-finals on clay in Monte-Carlo earlier this month, while Brisbane champ Dimitrov advanced to the final in Miami last month. Hurkacz lifted his first clay-court ATP Tour title in Estoril at the start of April. All three will seek deep runs in Madrid to further boost their Nitto ATP Finals qualification hopes.

8) #NextGenATP stars in action: There are eight #NextGenATP stars competing this fortnight in Madrid. The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, Arthur Fils begins against #NextGenATP Spaniard Martin Landaluce or Daniel Altmaier.

The 19-year-old American Alex Michelsen plays 17-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca in the first round, with Czech Jakub Mensik taking on Yannick Hanfmann. Chinese wild card Shang Juncheng meets a qualifier and Frenchman Luca Van Assche plays Zizou Bergs. The 16-year-old American Blanch plays record five-time champ Nadal.

Madrid, we are ready for you 💃

Read the draw preview here 👇@MutuaMadridOpen | #MMOPEN

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 22, 2024

9) Home hopes: There are six Spaniards in the draw, excluding qualifiers. Alcaraz and Nadal are the standout names, with 27th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina also in action. Jaume Munar opens against Nuno Borges, Landaluce plays Altmaier and Roberto Carballes Baena faces Dominik Koepfer.

10) ATP Doubles Trial commences in Madrid: The new doubles format, announced by the ATP earlier this month, will be trialled on Tour for the first time in Madrid. Changes include a 32-team draw which will feature up to 16 slots reserved for teams entering via their singles ranking. The doubles event will take place across five days during Week Two (Tuesday to Saturday).