Madrid Open 2019: Men's singles draw analysis

The men's singles draw for the much-awaited Madrid Open was released a few hours ago. Just like the women's draw, the men's draw also contains some interesting matchups and potential blockbusters right from the start.

In the top half, top seed Novak Djokovic receives a bye into the second round where he could possibly face the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. This would be their first face-off this year; they last met in the fourth round of the Cincinnati Masters last year with Djokovic winning that match.

An interesting first round match in the top half will be between Diego Schwartzman and the Italian Marco Cecchinato. This will be their second meeting this year after their championship match in Buenos Aires earlier this year, which Cecchinato won.

Jan-Lennard Struff, who gave a stiff challenge to Rafael Nadal in the recently concluded Barcelona Open, will start his campaign against the Aussie Nick Kyrgios. This promises to be another electrifying match as Kyrgios will be making his entry into the clay season for the first time this year.

The winner of this match will face Marin Cilic in the second round. Meanwhile the runner-up at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Dusan Lajovic, will likely be facing Juan Martin Del Potro in his second round match - assuming Lajovic gets past Laslo Djere.

In the second quarter of the top half, fourth seed Roger Federer might face the Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the second round. Gael Monfils, who seems to have lost his touch after a fantastic start to 2019, will face Andreas Seppi in the first round.

The winner of the Monte-Carlo Masters, Fabio Fognini, will start his run in Madrid with a first round clash against the British player Kyle Edmund. This could be a tough one for Fognini as Edmund is known to fight for every single point.

Dominic Thiem, who won the Barcelona Open, could possibly face the Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round.

In the bottom half, Stefanos Tsitsipas might face Jason Sousa in the second round. Tsitsipas would look to prove his mettle in this tournament as his recent performances on clay have not quite been up to the mark.

David Ferrer, playing in the last tournament of his career, is all set to face his fellow countryman Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round. The winner of this contest will face Alexander Zverev, who received a bye into the second round.

Rafael Nadal will start the tournament against the winner of the first round match between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov.

Here is a list of some enthralling matches in the early rounds of the Madrid Masters:

1) Marco Cecchinato vs Diego Schwartzman (1st round)

2) Jan-Lennard Struff vs Nick Kyrgios (1st round)

3) David Ferrer vs Roberto Bautista Agut (1st round)

4) Guido Pella vs Daniil Medvedev (1st round)

5) Marin Cilic vs Jan-Lennard Struff (2nd round)

6) Juan Martin Del Potro vs Dusan Lajovic (2nd round)

7) Fernando Verdasco vs Karen Khachanov (2nd round)

8) Stan Wawrinka vs Danill Medvedev (2nd round)

9) Frances Tiafoe vs Philipp Kohlschreiber (2nd round)

10) Kei Nishikori vs Gilles Simon (2nd round)

Here is a look at the projected quarterfinals based on ranking:

1) Novak Djokovic vs Marin Cilic

2) Roger Federer vs Dominic Thiem

3) Alexander Zverev vs Stefanos Tsitsipas

4) Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev.

With some great matches lined up in Madrid, it is going to be another week of entertaining tennis for the viewers to relish.