This Week On The ATP Tour – CW17

Mutua Madrid Open (photo: Florian Heer)

STARNBERG, April 24, 2024

The European clay-court season continues in full swing at the Mutua Madrid Open, where the ATP Tour’s finest gather for the fourth ATP Masters 1000 of the season.

Jannik Sinner leads the field at the Caja Magica. The in-form Italian will hope to improve on his past showings in Madrid, where he holds a 3-2 record. The top seed at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time, Sinner can move within 330 ATP Rankings points of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic by lifting his fourth title of 2024.

The Serbian has withdrawn from the tournament due to a “non-medical reason.” Djokovic has faced challenges in the 2024 season and opted out of the event, marking the third time in the last four years that he has done so.

Carlos Alcaraz is bidding to become the first man to win three consecutive titles in the Spanish capital. Record five-time champion Rafael Nadal also features in the draw.

Top 5 stars Daniil Medvedev of Russia and two-time Madrid winner Alexander Zverev from Germany chase their first ATP Tour titles of the season, while  last week’s Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell champion Casper Ruud of Norway and Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece hope to continue their excellent starts on clay in 2024.

Russian Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz of Poland and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov each seek their second trophy of the season.

New Doubles Format

Changes being trialled for the first time in Madrid include a 32-team doubles field featuring up to 16 slots reserved for teams entering via singles rankings. Rohan Bopanna of India and Australia’s Matthew Ebden will be top seeds for the ATP Tour event, which takes place from Tuesday to Saturday in Week 2.