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The Madrid Open, the second ATP Masters 1000 tournament on clay, will get underway on 1 May at the Caja Magica in the Spanish capital.
The tournament has attracted the cream of the crop, with eight of the world's top 10 set to compete for the title.
Three-time champion and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic leads the field, while five-time winner and home favorite Rafael Nadal makes his return from a rib stress fracture. While the two legends will be the cynosure of all eyes, young stars like Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud will be looking to pull off a few upsets.
Without further ado, let's take a look at everything you need to know about the highly-anticipated Madrid Open:
What is the Madrid Open?
The Madrid Open is the first of two combined ATP and WTA 1000 events that will be held on outdoor red clay.
It started off as an ATP tournament in 2002 and was part of the ATP Masters 1000 series until 2008. It used to be held on indoor hardcourt at the Madrid Arena.
The tournament was shifted to La Caja Magica in 2009 and expanded to include a premier women's event. The surface was altered to clay as well.
In 2012, experimental blue clay was used, which was widely criticized from all quarters for being slippery and uncomfortable. Top stars such as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic threatened to boycott the tournament following which the Madrid Open returned to its original red clay in 2013, which has been in use ever since.
Rafael Nadal is the most successful man in Madrid, having lifted the trophy in 2005, 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2017. Both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have triumphed in the Spanish capital thrice. While the Swiss won in 2006, 2009 and 2012, the Serb emerged as the champion in 2011, 2016 and 2019.
Venue
The Madrid Open will be held on outdoor red clay at La Caja Magica or the Magic Box in the Spanish capital. The state-of-the-art facility has three courts with mobile covers.
Players
The 56-player field means each of the top eight seeds will get a first-round bye.
The draw is headed by Novak Djokovic, who will be eager to build some rhythm in Madrid ahead of his Roland Garros title defense next month.
Due to his unvaccinated status, the Serb's schedule has been limited this year, affecting his match fitness. While he crashed out in the quarterfinals of Dubai, he was bundled out in the second round of the Monte-Carlo Masters. In his home event in Belgrade, Djokovic struggled throughout the tournament with all of his matches going the distance. He lost to Andrey Rublev in the final.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev returns to the Spanish capital as the second seed. The German has had a rather underwhelming season so far, with his only notable achievement being a runner-up finish in Montpellier. After losing to wildcard Holger Rune in the second round in Munich, the World No. 3 will be eager for a turnaround in fortunes in Madrid.
Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal, who started the season with a dazzling 20-match unbeaten streak, will make his comeback from injury in Madrid. The southpaw suffered a rib stress fracture during his Indian Wells semi-final match against Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard lost the final to Taylor Fritz. The injury kept him out of action for four to six weeks, robbing him of a chance to play at Monte-Carlo and Barcelona.
As the third seed in Madrid, the 35-year-old will hope to regain the form that saw him win three titles at the start of 2022.
Stefanos Tsitsipas will aim to further his claycourt credentials with a deep in Madrid. The 2021 Roland Garros runner-up made a fabulous start to the clay swing with a successful defense of his Monte Carlo crown and will be eager to add another ATP Masters 1000 title to his trophy cabinet.
Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime round out the top eight seeds. Home hope and teenage sensation, Carlos Alcaraz, will command the lion's share of the spotlight among these names after claiming titles in Rio, Miami Masters and Barcelona so far this year.
Monte-Carlo Masters breakout star Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and the in-form Miomir Kecmanovic are also part of the draw. Former Major winners Dominic Thiem and Andy Murray, meanwhile, will square off in a tantalizing first-round showdown.
Schedule
The qualifying rounds in Madrid will be held on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1. The main draw action kicks off on May 1 at 12.30 pm local time.
Both the singles and doubles finals will be played on Sunday, May 8.
Prize Money
The prize money for the upcoming edition of the Madrid Open is €6,744,165, with the winner set to earn 1000 points and €1,041,570.
Where to watch
Viewers from the US can catch all the action at the Madrid Open live on the Tennis Channel, while fans in the UK will be able to see it live on Amazon Prime Video. Canadians can watch the matches live on TSN & Rogers Sportsnet. In Australia, one can view the action on beIN Sports.
Fans in Spain will get extensive coverage on Telefonica/Movistar while Indian tennis fans can catch all the action live on Voot.
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