The draw has been made for the Miami Open ATP Masters 1000 event, with some enticing matches lined up for a draw that features all but one of the game’s biggest names.
World No 1 Jannik Sinner will again be absent as he continues to serve his suspension from the sport following his positive doping test at Indian Wells a little over a year ago.
A thrilling Indian Wells Masters tournament confirmed that Sinner’s absence didn’t detract from the spectacle in a tournament that threw up a host of big talking points.
Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev were among the star names dumped out of Indian Wells in double quick time, with Carlos Alcaraz’s efforts to win a third straight title in the first event of the annual ‘Sunshine Swing’ on the ATP Tour.
The final saw two of the young guns in the men’s game battling it out, with Britain’s Jack Draper announcing his arrival on the big stage as he won his first ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
Draper has seen an instant impact following his big win in California, as he has jumped into the top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time as he is the No 6 seed for the Miami Open.
The benefit of that rankings leap will see Draper avoid clashes with top-ranked players in the early stages of tournaments for the next few months, with his opening match in Miami set to be against either Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut or Czechia’s Jakub Mensik.
Draper could be set for a rematch with Holger Rune after their one-sided final in Indian Wells, as the dup are in the same quarter of the draw in Miami.
After going out early in Miami last year, Draper has a real chance to make another leap up the ATP Rankings if he gets to the business end of the Miami Open, with a top five place in his sights as he heads to Florida.
Djokovic is playing in Miami for the first time since 2019 and the 24-time Grand Slam champion will be eager to find winning form after his shock defeat against Dutch lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp.
The Serbian will play either Australia’s Rinky Hijikata or his fellow Hamad Medjedovic in the opening round in Miami, with possible match-ups against America’s Alex Michelsen, Lorenzo Musetti and Felix Auger Aliassime also in is quarter of the draw.
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Carlos Alcaraz leads the bottom half of the draw as the No 2 seed, with veteran Belgian David Goffin or Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic lying in wait in his first match.
The Spaniard could face Brandon Nakashima in his second match, with Grigor Dimitrov also in his section of the draw after the duo played against each other last week.
Alcaraz holds a 4-2 winning record against Dimitrov, but he had way too much for his Bulgarian rival in a 6-1, 6-1 win in Indian Wells.
Australia’s Nick Kyrgios is still in the draw despite the recurrence of his wrist problems in his comeback tournament in Indian Wells and he has been drawn against a qualifier in his opening match.
Top seed Zverev will be eager to improve on his disappointing defeat in Indian Wells and he could face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard if he gets through an opening match against Benjamin Bondi or a qualifier in his opening match.
Potential quarter-final matches by seeding:
Alexander Zverev [1] vs Jack Draper [6]
Tayor Fritz [3] Andrey Rublev [8]
Daniil Medvedev [7] vs Novak Djokovic [4]
Carlos Alcaraz [2] vs Casper Ruud [5]
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