Carlos Alcaraz will make his return to hard courts against either Gael Monfils or Alexei Popyrin, as revealed by Saturday's draw for the Cincinnati Open.
The Spaniard has not competed on the surface since he reached the quarter-finals in Miami in March but arrives in Cincinnati holding fond memories, having advanced to the final last year.
The 21-year-old, who has won majors at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, is chasing his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Cincinnati. Alcaraz is seeded to face Holger Rune in the third round, with the Dane starting against former Top 10 star Matteo Berrettini in a blockbuster first-round match.
Alcaraz could then meet seventh seed Casper Ruud or ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals, with fourth seed Daniil Medvedev a potential semi-final opponent. Medvedev, who triumphed in Cincinnati in 2019, begins against Jiri Lehecka or Mariano Navone.
Lorenzo Musetti, a bronze medalist at the Paris Olympics, is seeded to play Medvedev in the third round, while fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz or 10th seed Tommy Paul could await in the last eight. Hurkacz reached the semis in Cincinnati last year, while Paul is set for his fifth appearance.
Top seed Jannik Sinner will play Tallon Griekspoor or a qualifier in his opening match. The Italian, who became the first player to qualify for this year’s Nitto ATP Finals on Saturday following his third-round win in Montreal, is in the same quarter as sixth seed Andrey Rublev. Rublev starts against Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard or China’s Zhang Zhizhen. Sinner, a four-time titlist this year, is seeded to play Ugo Humbert in the third round.
Third seed Alexander Zverev is a potential semi-final for Sinner. The 2021 champ Zverev takes on Karen Khachanov or Francisco Cerundolo in his opening match. Washington champion Sebastian Korda is a potential third-round opponent, with American Ben Shelton or Grigor Dimitrov seeded to play the German in the last eight. Shelton faces countryman Reilly Opelka in the first round.
The ATP Masters 1000 hard-court event begins on Monday, with the final on Monday 19 August.
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