Carlos Alcaraz has received a good draw at the Cincinnati Open and wants to win the title for the first time.

The Spaniard lost to Novak Djokovic a year ago, but since the Serb decided not to defend his title, Alcaraz is considered the clear favorite for his fourth title in 2024.

The reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion is seeded second in the men’s singles and has a bye in the first round before facing Gael Monfils or Alexei Popyrin in the second round.

While they are not the easiest opening games, they are encounters that the 21-year-old would most likely win, and after that his draw looks manageable.

Alcaraz is expected to face 15th seed Holger Rune in the third round, but the Dane faces a tough opening match against Matteo Berrettini.

The Spaniard is also expected to face seventh-seeded Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals, although the Norwegian will not have an easy mini-stage to overcome first.

Ruud could face Felix Auger-Aliassime – the man who beat him at Paris 2024 – in the second round, while ninth seeds Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jack Draper are potential third-round opponents.

Alcaraz has been placed in the bottom half of the draw and is expected to face fourth seed Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals – in a possible rematch of the Wimbledon semifinals.

Medvedev has struggled since his run at SW19 and will be hoping to respond to a surprise early loss in Montreal last week.

The Russian will face Jiri Lehecka or Mariano Navone in the second round before likely facing rising 14th seed Lorenzo Musetti in the third round.

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Carlos Alcaraz remains world number 1 in the rankings supported by Novak Djokovic

His likely opponent in the quarterfinals is fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz, but there are high hopes that home favorite and tenth seed Tommy Paul will maintain his strong form and go far.

Meanwhile, the draw is led by world number one and top seed Jannik Sinner – however, the Italian’s participation is questionable ahead of the tournament.

In Montreal’s loss to Andrey Rublev on Saturday night, Sinner appeared to have problems with his right hip, a problem that had already bothered him during the clay court season.

The Italian hopes that a bye in the first round will help him recover physically, as he is likely to face Tallon Griekspoor in the second round.

He is then expected to face 13th seed Ugo Humbert in the third round – before facing Rublev in another quarter-final.

However, the sixth-seeded player could face eleventh-seeded Taylor Fritz in the third round, which would be an exciting match.

Sinner’s likely semifinal opponent is third-seeded Alexander Zverev, and the German will undoubtedly be one of the strongest contenders to reclaim the title he won in 2021.

Zverev will begin his campaign against Karen Khachanov or Francisco Cerundolo and could face 16th seed Sebastian Korda in a thrilling third round.

Eighth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov also lurks in this quarter, but may have to face 12th-seeded Ben Shelton or Montreal semifinalist Matteo Arnaldi to reach the last eight.

Read more: Draw for women’s singles Cincinnati Open – Iga Swiatek has a difficult quarter-final, Coco Gauff against Zheng Qinwen expected quarter-final