Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will be back in action at the Madrid Masters on Thursday with quarterfinal spots at stake. The Djokovic-Andy Murray rivalry is adding another chapter, while Alcaraz runs into Cameron Norrie.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (WC) Andy Murray
Djokovic and Murray will be facing each other for the 36th time in their careers and for the first time in more than five years when they finally meet again in round three of the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday. They have not squared off since the Doha final in 2017, when Djokovic extended his head-to-head series lead to 25-11 with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory. The Serb has won five of their six clay-court encounters, losing only in the 2016 Rome final. They also battled for the Madrid and French Open titles that year, with Djokovic winning each of those contests (6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in Madrid and 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 at Roland Garros).
Although Murray said following his three-set win over Denis Shapovalov on Tuesday that he should have little chance in this match, that is hardly the case. Djokovic is just 6-3 during his abbreviated 2022 campaign with zero titles. The world No. 1 beat Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-2 in his Madrid opener, but Monfils is 0-18 lifetime in that matchup on the main tour and might as well have been defeated before he even took the court. That won’t be the case with Murray, who is looking good this week with victories over Shapovalov and Dominic Thiem. Djokovic will likely be able get the best of a long, physical clay-court contest, but this almost certainly won’t be easy.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
(9) Cameron Norrie vs. (7) Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz is only 18 years old, but Norrie has already seen more than enough of the Spaniard on the other side of the net. They have gone head-to-head twice and beatdowns have been the result on each occasion; Alcaraz cruised 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in round one of the 2021 U.S. Open and 6-4, 6-3 in the Indian Wells quarterfinals a couple of months ago.
There is no reason to think anything will change now that Alcaraz has home-court advantage and is playing on Norrie’s worst surface. That’s not to say the 11th-ranked Brit is hopeless on the red stuff, but he would rather play on a hard court or grass. Norrie has done well to defeat Soonwoo Kwon and John Isner this week, while Alcaraz opened with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili. The world No. 9 should only improve with a match under his belt, so this one could be over in a hurry.
Pick: Alcaraz in 2
WWW?
Murray is playing better now, but Nole will still be far to good for him as he is in fine form coming off a final in Belgrade and looked great vs. Monfils Nole in 2.
Norrie is quite underrated on clay, and ALcaraz has not played as well on clay as he has on hard, so Norrie might have a chance here, but he might not be fully healthy, so Alcaraz in 2.
The world No. 9 should only improve with a match under his belt, so this one could be over in a hurry.
Not quite.
Sir Andy in 3; Alcaraz in 2.
Andy has won 2 tough matches in a row. Sadly, that’s about his limit these days. Novax in 2. Alcaraz in 2 also.
At times he’s looked like the Andy of old, but this is a step too far.
Djokovic gets a WO.
What a bummer!!! Hope he feels better soon 🙏🏽