Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev comes into the BNP Paribas Open as the most popular participant on the ATP Tour and the fifth seed will must be on his recreation early on the 12 months’s first ATP Masters 1000 occasion to increase his 14-match successful streak.
Drawn in the identical half as second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, third seed Casper Ruud and sixth seed Andrey Rublev, Medvedev faces a testing opening match in opposition to the winner of 2012 Indian Wells finalist John Isner, whose fearsome serve will get further chunk within the dry desert circumstances, and Next Gen ATP Finals champion Brandon Nakashima.
Medvedev, who beat Rublev in final Saturday’s Dubai ultimate to cap a hat-trick of titles that additionally included Rotterdam and Doha, is seeded to satisfy Alexander Zverev within the fourth spherical. The German final week returned to type with a semi-final run in Dubai.
Top seed and 2022 semi-finalist Carlos Alcaraz, who will return to No. 1 within the Pepperstone ATP Rankings ought to he win his third Masters 1000 title this fortnight, leads the highest half of the draw and in his opening match will face the winner of American wild card Brandon Holt and a qualifier. The Spaniard missed final week’s ATP 500 occasion in Acapulco with a proper leg damage.
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Great Britain followers is not going to have been proud of the draw, as twenty fourth seed Daniel Evans might face rising 21-year-old lefty Jack Draper within the second spherical, with the winner presumably enjoying Andy Murray, if the Scot can defeat Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry within the first spherical and fifteenth seed Pablo Carreno Busta within the second spherical.
Eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who’s in search of a spark after a modest 8-5 begin to the 12 months, is seeded to satisfy Poland’s ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz within the fourth spherical.
Defending champion Taylor Fritz, who’s at a career-high No. 5, will open in opposition to the winner of fast-rising 19-year-old American Ben Shelton and wily Italian veteran Fabio Fognini. But with 1000 factors to defend, the 25-year-old enters the match at No. 10 within the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and desires a deep run to stay inside attain of the Top 5.
Seeded eleventh, Jannik Sinner might meet fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti within the third spherical and seventh seed Holger Rune within the fourth spherical.
Second seed Tsitsipas, who has an opportunity to climb to World No. 1 after the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami, will open in opposition to both French veteran Gael Monfils or Australian Jordan Thompson. The Greek must win one title and attain one ultimate in the course of the swing to place himself in rivalry for prime spot. Tsitsipas is defending simply 135 factors in March, having reached the Indian Wells third spherical and the Miami fourth spherical in 2022.
Tsitsipas is seeded to satisfy Frances Tiafoe within the fourth spherical, with Rublev, 2021 champion Cameron Norrie and Matteo Berrettini all potential opponents within the quarter-finals, ought to he make it that far.
World No. 4 Ruud, who final 12 months reached the ultimate of the Miami Open, will play the winner of the all-Argentine first-round battle between Diego Schwartzman and Federico Coria. Schwartzman is trying to flip round his season, having received simply certainly one of his seven matches this 12 months as he has slipped to World No. 38.
