The Madrid Open, a joint ATP and WTA 1000 event, gets underway on Tuesday. The world’s best will battle it out in the Caja Magica over the next fortnight with the trophy, £846k in prize money, and 1,000 ranking points on the line.
The tournament marks Raducanu’s first outing on the clay this season after she skipped Britain’s BJK Cup ties and withdrew from the WTA 250 event in Rouen.
The Brit had a horrible time in Madrid last year, suffering a one-sided defeat to Maria Lourdes Carle, and did not play on the surface again for the rest of the year.
But she hopes to turn things around when she faces Lamens in the first round. On paper, Raducanu will be the favourite against the world No. 73, but Lamens is a tricky opponent on the clay.
She recently beat Katie Boulter at the BJK Cup, then reached the Rouen semi-final, taking out 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu and No. 2 seed Linda Niskova.
If Raducanu makes it to round two, she will face 24th seed Marta Kostyuk. And the Brit’s good friend, world No. 9 Paula Badosa, could be her opponent in the third round, while she is also in Aryna Sabalenka’s section of the draw and may meet the top seed in the quarters.
Raducanu isn’t the only Brit in the women’s draw. Sonay Kartal will make her Madrid Open debut against Jaqueline Cristian, while Boulter takes on Katerina Siniakova, with No. 6 seed Jasmine Paolini waiting in round two.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek could be set for a grudge match in her opening match. The world No. 2 has a bye into the second round and awaits Alexandra Eala – the teenager who upset her in Miami – or Viktoriya Tomova.
In the men’s draw, Djokovic is returning to the tournament for the first time since 2022, with coach Andy Murray in his corner. The three-time former champion in Madrid has a bye into the second round, where he takes on either Matteo Arnaldi or a qualifier.
Djokovic will then face either Sebastian Baez, Damir Dzumhur or Mattia Bellucci in round three. He is likely to meet Frances Tiafoe or Ugo Humbert in the round of 16, while Britain’s Jack Draper is a potential quarter-final opponent, with Matteo Berrettini also lurking.
With Djokovic and Alcaraz in the same half of the draw, they’re on a collision course for a blockbuster semi-final. It would be their first meeting since the Australian Open quarters, where the Serb won in four sets despite picking up an injury.
Two-time former champion Alcaraz meets either Zizou Bergs or Yoshihito Nishioka in his opening match and could be set for a rematch with Jiri Lehecka in round three after the Czech star upset him in Doha.
The world No. 3 is in the same quarter as Stefanos Tsitsipas and Lorenzo Musetti – if he faces the Italian, it will be a rematch of the Monte-Carlo Masters final.
Jack Draper is the fifth seed in Madrid and awaits either Tallon Griekspoor or a qualifier in round two. If he wins his opening match, he may face Berrettini. Britain’s Cameron Norrie has also made it into the draw, meeting Spanish wildcard Martin Landaluce in round one.
Alexander Zverev is the top seed in the men’s field and is guaranteed to open against a Spaniard – either Roberto Bautista Agut or Jaume Munar, while teen sensation Joao Fonseca will make his tournament debut. And reigning champion Andrey Rublev will start his title defence against Gael Monfils or a qualifier.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk