The draw for the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid has positioned Dominic Thiem in a quarter with Rafael Nadal. As in the Monte Carlo tournament, the two clay court specialists could meet in the quarter-finals. Novak Djokovic has, however, once again hit a hard draw with Kei Nishikori.
After a walk-through, Thiem has to deal with either Mischa Zverev or a qualifier in round two. In round three, Borna Coric (CRO) or Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) could wait.
World number one Nadal is likely to play his first game against Gael Monfils, provided he wins against a qualifier.
Djokovic, who won the Madrid tournament in 2011 and 2016, has probably won the toughest lot of a seeded team with Kei Nishikori. The Japanese player recently showed himself in excellent early form on sand and even reached the final in Monte Carlo.
Alexander Zverev also enjoys a walk-through as number two of the tournament. The first opponent could be wild card player Stefanos Tsitsipas, who, for his part, made it to the final in Barcelona and reached the semi-finals of Estoril this week.
Besides the Zverev brothers, there are three other German players in the main field of Madrid: Jan-Lennard Struff will start against a qualifier, Munich semi-finalist Philipp Kohlschreiber will meet Japanese Yuichi Sugita and Peter Gojowczyk will play local hero Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
Besides the cancellations of Stan Wawrinka and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Marin Cilic had to cancel his start on Friday. All three have knee problems.
Only Julia Görges from Germany is represented at the women’s tournament. The 29-year-old will play Timea Babos from Hungary in round one.
Europe returning Victoria Azarenka will play Aleksandra Krunic at the start, while Kristina Mladenovic and Coco Vandeweghe will play one of the highest-class first-round matches. Click here for all draws of the tournament.