MADRID, 20 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz will begin the defense of number one and his title in the Masters 1,000 in Miami, a tournament that started this Sunday until April 2, against the Argentine Facundo Bagnis or a tennis player from the previous rounds, avoiding even a hypothetical final the Russian Daniil Medvedev, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas or the Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime, according to the draw for the American event.
The Murcian won the Indian Wells tournament this Sunday, the first Masters 1,000 of the season, by overwhelming Medvedev (6-3, 6-2) in the final, the eighth title of his record that returned him to a world number one that Novak Djokovic took from him when he became champion of an Australian Open that Alcaraz did not attend due to injury.
The victory of El Palmar allowed him to lift his third tournament in this category, after Miami and Madrid last year, in a three out of three final, his second title in 2023 after Buenos Aires. Thus, this week he will begin his defense of the first Masters 1,000 that he won as a tennis player last year. And he will do it by avoiding the first round, being the first seed and current champion of the tournament.
His debut in Miami will be against the winner of the match between the Argentine Facundo Bagnis and a tennis player from the previous rounds, while the first level obstacle would come in the third round, when he could face the Scotsman Andy Murray. With a fairly favorable draw, Alcaraz, 19, would not meet tennis players like the Norwegian Casper Ruud, the Danish Holger Rune, the Italian Jannik Sinner or the Russian Andrey Rublev until the semifinals in Miami.
While he would avoid meeting Medvedev, whom he beat in the Indian Wells final; Tsitsipas, number three in the world, or Aliassime until a hypothetical final, which he would have to win again to remain at the top of the ranking, as well as to repeat the title. Before these last two rounds, Alcaraz could face off against fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich in the round of 16.
The rest of the Spanish ‘Armada’, Roberto Bautista from Castellón will also start in the second round with the Finn Emil Ruusuvuori or the Serbian Filip Krajinovic as a rival, while Roberto Carballés Baena and Bernabé Zapata will be opponents in the first round, playing to advance to face Medvedev.