Madrid Masters 2023: Carlos Alcaraz looks for repeat title; Ons Jabeur withdraws
The European clay season is in full swing as it heads to the Spanish capital, where the teenager Alcaraz has the home crowd on his side. See the schedule and find out how to watch the action, too.
Tennis
Are reigning Madrid champions Carlos Alcaraz and Ons Jabeur two of the favourites for Roland-Garros next month?
The two Mutua Madrid Open 2022 winners are certainly part of the clay court major conversation this year, but only one will be in action over the next fortnight as the tennis tours make their way to the Spanish capital for the first of two combined 1000-level events, with Rome taking place the week after.
For the first year, Madrid has expanded to 96-player singles draws, the largest outside of the majors.
The event, set for 25 April to 7 May, will be with Alcaraz (more on him below) but without Jabeur, who withdrew on Tuesday (25 April) due to a left calf injury she sustained in Stuttgart last week.
Home hope Rafael Nadal, the five-time champion in Madrid, continues to recover from the hip injury that has sidelined him since an early exit at January's Australian Open. Novak Djokovic, a three-time winner in Madrid, has also pulled out, as has Jannik Sinner, the fast-rising Italian.
Alcaraz, fresh from defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Barcelona final, will headline the men's field.
Jabeur was left in doubt after pulling out during the first set of her semi-final at Stuttgart against eventual winner Iga Swiatek. Poland's world number one returned from a rib injury to open her clay-court season with victory, beating 2021 Madrid winner and reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
See the full schedule of the tennis, find out how you can tune in and read up on the storylines to keep your eye on below.
Madrid Masters tennis: 3 things to watch for
Alcaraz looks to wow Madrid crowd
The young Spanish superstar aims to repeat his amazing performance from last year's tournament, where he beat Nadal, Djokovic and then-defending champion Alexander Zverev en route to his second Masters 1000 title (Miami 2022).
His surprise win over Djokovic in an epic semi-final was one of the best three-set matches of 2022. Alcaraz is also hoping to reclaim the top spot in the world ranking, but will have to wait until late May for that to become possible, pending results. He could enter Roland-Garros as the top seed should he have enough points in the rankings from Madrid and Rome.
Keep an eye on... Petra Kvitova
Even without Jabeur, the women's field is crowded: Keep tabs on 2011, 2015 and 2018) Madrid winner Petra Kvitova, the Czech lefty that just won her 30th career title last month in Miami.
Conditions can be tricky in Madrid, where elevation at the Caja Magica (2150 feet/650 metres) creates tricky ball speeds for the players. World No. 3 Jessica Pegula fell at the final hurdle against Jabeur a year ago, who hoisted her biggest-ever trophy here with that win.
Caroline Garcia and Coco Gauff are other ones to watch, too, as is 2022 Roland-Garros semi-finalist Daria Kasatkina.
Zverev, Murray other former champs
Olympic champions Andy Murray and Zverev are the only other former winners here along with Alcaraz and Djokovic, with Zverev capturing the crown in 2018 and 2021.
But the men's field is arguably as crowded as the women's, with Andrey Rublev bursting with confidence off of his first ATP Masters 1000 win (Monte-Carlo), Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and teenager Holger Rune are all in the favourites conversation while world No. 4 Daniil Medvedev continues to find his footing on the tricky terre battue.
Madrid Masters 2023: Schedule of ATP & WTA matches
The main draw of the Madrid Masters begins on Tuesday, 25 April, with the event moving to a two-week format for the first time. See the full tournament schedule here.
All times listed are local in Madrid (Central European Summer Time / GMT +2).
Tuesday, 25 April
WTA - First round: 1000 local
Wednesday, 26 April
ATP & WTA - First round: 1100 local
Thursday, 27 April
ATP - First round; WTA - First & second rounds
Friday, 28 April
ATP & WTA - Second round
Saturday, 29 AprilATP - Second round; WTA - Third round
Sunday, 30 AprilATP & WTA - Third round
Monday, 1 MayATP - Third round; WTA - Quarter-finals
Tuesday, 2 MayATP & WTA - Quarter-finals: 1100 local
Wednesday, 3 MayATP & WTA - Quarter-finals: 1300 local
Thursday, 4 MayWTA - Semi-finals: 1300 local
Friday, 5 MayATP - Semi-finals: 1300 local
_Saturday, 6 May
_WTA - Singles final: 1530 local
_Sunday, 7 May
_ATP - Singles final: 1530 local
Madrid Masters 2023: How to watch
Madrid can be watched on ATP and WTA partner broadcasters as the event is held as part of the respective tours.
American fans can watch the action in its entirety on Tennis Channel.
Other notable territories include:
• Australia - beIN
• Great Britian - Amazon Prime Video
• Germany - Sky Deutschland (men); Tennis Channel (women)
• Spain - Telefonica/Movistar & TVE (men); DAZN, TVE & TV3 (women)
• France - Canal +, Eurosport (men); beIN
• Japan - WOWOW, NHK, Gaora (men); DAZN (women)
• Poland - Canal + (women only)
A full list of ATP broadcasters can be found here, while the WTA broadcast list is here.