6-time champion Djokovic, Alcaraz land in same half of Miami Open draw

Six-time champion Novak Djokovic and 2022 titlist Carlos Alcaraz have landed in the same half of the Miami Open main draw, starting from March 19.

Djokovic is returning to the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami for the first time since 2019. From 2011 through 2016, the Serbian star won five of the six editions. He will begin his return to Miami against countryman Hamad Medjedovic, the 2023 ATP Finals champion, or Australian Rinky Hijikata.

The record 40-time Masters 1000 winner could face another former No. 1 in Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals. Medvedev, the 2023 Miami champion, will take on Jaume Munar or Arthur Rinderknech in his opening match.

Djokovic will try to bounce back from a three-match losing streak, including an opening loss in Indian Wells against Botic van de Zandschulp. The 37-year-old owns a 44-7 record in Miami, ATP reports.

Second seed Alcaraz, who is 13-3 at the tournament according to the ATP Win/Loss Index, will begin his event against David Goffin or Aleksandar Vukic. He could face 31st seed Brandon Nakashima in the third round and other seeded players in the Spaniard’s quarter include fifth seed Casper Ruud, Grigor Dimitrov and 12th seed Tommy Paul.

Like at Indian Wells, Alexander Zverev is the top seed. The German has not won more than two consecutive matches since reaching the Australian Open final and will try to get back on track in Miami, where he made the semifinals last year.

Zverev will begin his tournament against Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi or a qualifier. The 27-year-old could play dangerous 28th seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the third round with 16th seed Frances Tiafoe and 17th seed Arthur Fils potential fourth-round opponents.

Jack Draper, fresh off his maiden Masters 1000 triumph, is the sixth seed. The Briton is in Zverev’s quarter of the draw and will face former Top 10 player Roberto Bautista Agut or #NextGenATP Czech Jakub Mensik in the second round.

Third seed Taylor Fritz leads the second quarter of the draw and will play Mariano Navone or Lorenzo Sonego in the second round. Denis Shapovalov, the 27th seed who defeated Fritz last month in Dallas, is a potential third-round opponent for the American.

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff shrugged her right shoulder and chuckled a bit Monday at the notion that she seems to elicit concern from others when she goes through a two- or three-match losing streak - a rough patch in the course of a long season.

“Sometimes when I don’t do well, people think there’s something personally wrong with me,” Gauff said on the eve of the Miami Open, where the women begin main-draw play on Tuesday and the men get started Wednesday.

Bow out early at one event or two - or drop a trio of outings consecutively, as she did at the Australian Open, Qatar and Dubai in January and February - and fans or former players will ask the 2023 U.S. Open champion, who just turned 21 last week, whether she’s OK.

“I’m like, ‘I just lost a couple of matches! I’m chillin’,’” said Gauff, who has a first-round bye because she is seeded No. 3 at the hard-court Masters 1000 event and will get started by taking on another past Grand Slam champion - Petra Kvitova or Sofia Kenin - in the second round later in the week.

“I’m obviously not happy with those past results, but it’s one of those things that, in the history of my career, I’ve had ups and downs. I still feel like I have a couple more years ... (to reach) that point where every week is a great week, I guess,” said Gauff, who is based not far from where the Miami Open is played. “I’m also in the middle of changes in my game; it’s been difficult.”

Agencies