MADRID, March 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz will begin the defense of number one and his title in the Miami Masters 1000, a tournament that started this Sunday until April 2, against the Argentinian Facundo Bagnis or a tennis player from previous rounds, even avoiding a hypothetical final the Russian Daniil Medvedev, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas or the Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime, according to the draw for the American event.

The Murcian won the Indian Wells tournament this Sunday, the first Masters 1,000 of the season, by crushing Medvedev (6-3, 6-2) in the final, the eighth title of his record which brought him back to a world number one that Novak Djokovic took from him when he became champion of an Australian Open in which Alcaraz did not participate due to injury.

El Palmar’s victory allowed him to lift his third tournament in this category, after Miami and Madrid last year, in a three out of three final, his second title in 2024 after Buenos Aires. Thus, this week, he will begin his defense of the first Masters 1000 which he won as a tennis player last year. And he will do it by avoiding the first round, being the first seed and the current champion of the tournament.

His Miami debut will come against the winner of the match between Argentinian Facundo Bagnis and a tennis player from previous rounds, while the top tier hurdle would come in the third round when he could face Scotsman Andy Murray. With a fairly favorable draw, 19-year-old Alcaraz would only meet tennis players like Norwegian Casper Ruud, Dane Holger Rune, Italian Jannik Sinner or Russian Andrey Rublev in the semi-finals in Miami.

While he would avoid meeting Medvedev, whom he beat in the Indian Wells final; Tsitsipas, world number three, or Aliassime until a hypothetical final, which he would have to win again to continue at the top of the rankings, as well as to retake the title. Before these last two rounds, Alcaraz could face fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich in the round of 16.

The rest of the Spanish Armada, Roberto Bautista de Castellón, will also start in the second round with Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori or Serbian Filip Krajinovic as rivals, while Roberto Carballés Baena and Bernabé Zapata will be opponents in the first round, playing advance to face Medvedev .