Andy Murray handed tough Madrid Open draw
Andy Murray has been handed a tough lot for the Madrid Open, with some seriously heavy hitters near him in the draw for the second clay court Masters event of 2023.
If Murray gets through the opening round, he will then be faced with the task of taking on Daniil Medvedev in the second round.
Medvedev enjoys a bye through the first round as one of the 32 seeds in the ATP 1000 event.
At the clay-court ATP Masters 1000 tournament, Medvedev will be out to add to his Tour-leading 31 victories for 2023.
Jiri Lehecka, the 31st seed, might face Medvedev in the third round in Madrid, while Taylor Fritz and Cameron Norrie are among his potential quarter-final opponents.
World No 2 and top seed will start his tournament against either fellow young gun Emil Ruusuvuori or French Journeyman Ugo Humbert.
Alcaraz is on a 14-match winning streak on Spanish soil having successfully defended his Barcelona Open title last week.
Alexander Zverev, the player Alcaraz defeated in the 2022 championship match in Madrid, is a potential Round of 16 foe for the Spaniard this year. The 13th-seeded Zverev, a two-time Madrid winner with a 19-3 tournament record, will take on David Goffin or home favorite Roberto Carballes Baena to start. An early exit will see Zverev plunge out of the top 20.
Third seed Casper Ruud will take on the winner of a battle between a pair of qualifiers as he seeks to get his season off the ground.
If things run according to seeding, Ruud will take Lorenzo Musetti in the fourth round.
Sixth seed Holger Rune, who won his fourth ATP Tour title in Munich on Sunday after saving four championship points against Botic van de Zandschulp, will make his Madrid debut against Alexander Bublik or Daniel Elahi Galan.
Andrey Rublev comes to Madrid riding high after winning his first Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo and reaching the Banja Luka final. If Stan Wawrinka defeats the serve-and-volley practioner Maxime Cressy in the first round, the fifth seed will meet former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in his opening encounter.
Dominic Thiem and former World No. 14 Kyle Edmund will battle for the right to take on fourth seed and Barcelona Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the round of 64.
READ MORE: Andy Murray among the celebs to suddenly have Twitter blue ticks restored
Along with former Masters champions Medvedev and Tsitsipas, seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime is also in the bottom half of the draw. In the third round, the Canadian, who is chasing a maiden Masters 1000 title, might face up-and-coming American Ben Shelton. Auger-Aliassime starts against Banja Luka champion Dusan Lajovic or Jason Kubler, while Shelton faces Lorenzo Sonego or a qualifier top kick-off his first Madrid Open.
