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The return of Roger Federer on clay is the most-talked-about event this week as the Madrid Masters sees a packed draw in its 11th edition as a premier claycourt tournament.
The three-time former champion has been seeded fourth in his first clay tournament of the season and finds himself in the same half as the top-seeded Novak Djokovic. That sets the two up for a blockbuster semi-final showdown.
But before they cross swords, each has his hands full. Federer has the 15th-seeded Gael Monfils in the pre-quarter-finals on beating whom the path gets even steeper for the Swiss maestro for there will be a possibility of a meeting with the Indian Wells and Barcelona Open champion, Dominic Thiem.
The Austrian beat Federer in their last face-off and the 2009 French Open champion needs to be at his imperious best against the 25-year-old who has shown his prowess on the red dirt in the past couple of years.
Djokovic hasn't been able to back up his Australian Open title win. Early setbacks at Indian Wells, Miami as well as Monte Carlo would make the World No. 1 hungry for a deep run at the Spanish capital and the two-time winner would be eager to go all the way.
But the Serb doesn't have it smooth all the way. Juan Martin del Potro, Marin Cilic and Marco Cecchinato could cause problems for which the 15-time Grand Slam champion needs to be prepared.
Four-time winner Rafael Nadal is the second seed. The 11-time French Open winner hasn't had the best of starts on clay this season, falling in the semi-finals of both the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona.
Nadal has been fighting a stomach bug this week and is trying to get fit in time for the Madrid Masters. After an opening round showdown with the promising talent Felix Auger-Aliassime, Nadal is likely to take on Kei Nishikori in a rematch of their 2014 final.
Alexander Zverev is the third seed as the young German struggles to regain the form that saw him clinch the title in Madrid and the ATP Finals last year. Zverev has reached only two finals this season and lost quite a few matches he was expected to come through in. Madrid presents a stern test as well as an opportunity for the 22-year-old to reassert himself.
Karen Khachanov, Borna Coric and Stefanos Tsitsipas are a few of the names who could turn out to be obstacles for the inconsistent Zverev.
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Here is all you need to know about the Madrid Masters:
Tournament name: Mutua Madrid Open
Date: May 5-12 2019
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Location: Caja Magica, Madrid
Surface: Clay
Where to watch the Madrid Masters in the USA?
Tennis Channel will show the Madrid Masters live in the USA.
Where to watch the Madrid Masters in the UK & Europe?
Amazon Prime Video will show the Madrid Masters live in the UK.
Where to watch the Madrid Masters in India?
In India, the Madrid Masters will be shown live on Sony ESPN.
Live Stream Details and Info for the Madrid Masters
Live Stream for the Madrid Masters is available on Tennis TV (a subscription is needed for the service).
2019 Madrid Masters news, updates, schedule, results and more on Sportskeeda
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