Five Italians at the start in the Masters 1000 on clay. Also in the first round are Arnaldi-Paire, Sonego-Struff and Cecchinato-Fucsovics, while Lorenzo starts from the second
Two of the three best Italian tennis players – Sinner and Berrettini – will not play in Madrid, yet there is a lot of blue in the second Masters 1000 of the season on clay. “Our” team, led by Lorenzo Musetti (seeded number 15, will start from the second round), can count on five elements: Sonego, Cecchinato, Arnaldi and Vavassori are also present. Fabio Fognini, on the other hand, will not be there, who should have made his debut against Oscar Otte but withdrew from the tournament: Pavel Kotov, the 24-year-old Russian, was picked up instead.
THE HIGH PART
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Musetti and Arnaldi are in the upper part of the draw, presided over by the great favorite to win the tournament: Carlos Alcaraz, seeded number 1 and fresh champion in Barcelona. The Spaniard awaits one between Ruusuvuori and Humbert in the second round, then he could have Dimitrov on his way, followed by Zverev or Korda, Rublev or Khachanov and, in the semifinal, one between Ruud (seeding number 3) and Rune (6). Musetti cannot cross Alcaraz before the semifinal: Lorenzo is in the eighth of Ruud and in the fourth of Rune. In the second round he awaits one between Varillas (who beat him in Buenos Aires) and Hanfmann, before a hypothetical third round with Carreno Busta (seeded number 15). Arnaldi instead starts from the match against Paire: the winner will face Ruud in the second round.
THE LOWER PART
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On one side Alcaraz and Ruud, on the other Medvedev (2) and Tsitsipas (4). Sonego will start from the challenge against Struff (lucky loser): whoever wins will face Shelton in the second round, before a possible challenge against Auger-Aliassime. We are in the eighth of Tiafoe or Cerundolo, in the fourth of Tsitsipas. Cecchinato and Vavassori are in the last quarter of the draw and in Medvedev’s eighth: the Sicilian will start from Fucsovics, in case of victory he will find De Minaur; for Vavassori there is an intriguing first round against Murray, then eventually Medvedev. Creepy route. Wednesday we start with the main draw: despite the absence of many big names (Nadal and Djokovic as well as Sinner and Berrettini) it will be fun.
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