ATP Masters Madrid: Dominic Thiem opens against qualifiers, Alexander Zverev threatens quarter-final duel with Rafael Nadal
On his return to the tour, Dominic Thiem will initially play against a qualifier at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid. In any case, the Austrian can be satisfied with his draw. Alexander Zverev , on the other hand, had Lospech. After a second round duel against Karen Khachanov or Kei Nishikori , the top seeded Rafael Nadal could already face the quarter-finals.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Apr 30, 2021, 07:29 pm
Dominic Thiem played his last match on the ATP tour on March 16 against Lloyd Harris, and the Austrian will return to the international tennis stage in Madrid next week. The 27-year-old, who enjoys a bye in the first round like all eight top-seeded players, will play his first match after the one and a half month break against a qualifier.
After that, the first seeded opponent could wait with Grigor Dimitrov, possible quarter-final opponents are Andrey Rublev and Roberto Bautista Agut. In the semifinals, Thiem could then play against clay court king Rafael Nadal.
Zverev facing a hard way
The 20-time Grand Slam winner, who is in first place at his home event after Novak Djokovic's cancellation , opens against Carlos Alcaraz or Adrian Mannarino. The first opponent set for the second in the world rankings would be Jannik Sinner in the round of 16. Jan-Lennard Struff, who initially plays against a qualifier, is also a possible third-round opponent of Nadal. In the round of the last eight, according to the seeding list, a meeting with Alexander Zverev would be on the program.
The German, who suffered a severe defeat in the quarter-finals in Munich against Ilya Ivashka , will play his first game in Madrid against Kei Nishikori or Karen Khachanov. After that, Hubert Hubert is the opponent of the round of 16 for the 24-year-old.
Tsitsipas with a good draw
The lower half of the tableau is headed by Daniil Medvedev. The Russian will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or a qualifier in the second round. Potential opponents in the quarter-final are Matteo Berrettini, Pablo Carreno Busta and Fabio Fognini. Stefanos Tsitsipas could then wait in the semifinals.
The Greek should not be dissatisfied with his draw anyway. At the beginning he gets to do with Benoit Paire or Nikoloz Basilashvili. In the following rounds, Felix-Auger Aliassime and Diego Schwartzman are the highest seeded players the Monte Carlo champion could face.
All information about the tournament in Madrid
madridmap