[ad_1]
World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz will face a qualifier on his debut at the Cinch Championships and could face two-time defending champion Matteo Berrettini in the third round at the ATP 500, following Saturday’s draw.
The 20-year-old Spaniard has lifted 10 tour-level titles in his career and risen to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. However, he has only previous played two tour-level events on grass, with his best result on the surface a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon last year.
The top seed headlines the draw in London, where he will face Jiri Lehecka or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round if he wins his opening match. Fourth seed Frances Tiafoe, who starts against Botic van de Zandschulp, is a potential semi-final opponent for Alcaraz. The American Tiafoe competes in the Stuttgart final on Sunday before arriving in London.
Cinch Championships 2023: Draws, Dates, History & All You Need To Know
In the bottom half, record five-time champion Andy Murray opens his campaign against Australian Alex de Minaur, who beat the 36-year-old in Monte-Carlo earlier this season. The former World No. 1 Murray could meet Diego Schwartzman in the second round and third seed Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals.
Murray has made a strong start to his grass season, winning an ATP Challenger Tour event in Surbiton, before advancing to the semi-finals in Nottingham, where he competes on Saturday.
The American Fritz, who has won tour-level titles on grass (Eastbourne 2021, 2022) begins against Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles.
Second seed Holger Rune is in the bottom half of the draw and will meet American Maxime Cressy in the first round. The Dane, currently at a career-high No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, has never won a tour-level match on grass.
Sixth seed Lorenzo Musetti is in Rune’s section, and starts against British wild card Jan Choinski. The 20-year-old Ben Shelton is making his debut on grass and is a potential second-round opponent for Musetti. The American starts against a qualifier.
Sixth seed Cameron Norrie and eighth seed Francisco Cerundolo are both in the top half of the draw. The Briton Norrie, who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2022, faces Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round, while Cerundolo takes on a qualifier.
[ad_2]
