Matteo Berrettini, Andy Murray headline popcorn first round in Miami, Alcaraz and Medvedev land on opposite halves

MIAMI, Fla.—Opportunity abounds in the Miami Open men’s singles draw, which was unveiled by tournament director James Blake and the returning Kei Nishikori in a ceremony on Monday.

Tennis fans immediately circled the popcorn first-round encounter between former world No. 1 Andy Murray and Matteo Berrettini as a must-watch, but there will be plenty of action in store all down the draw. Let’s break it all down:

View: The full 2024 Miami Open men's singles draw

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz leads the field as he arrives high on confidence after a run to his second BNP Paribas Open title. But he’ll have even more motivation to put in a strong showing during the second leg of the Sunshine Swing: if he wins the title in Miami, the ATP’s world No. 1 ranking would be in play as early as Monte Carlo. Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked player, announced his withdrawal from Miami last week.

Through to the second round with a bye, Alcaraz could meet either Aleksandar Vukic or countryman Roberto Carballes Baena in his opening match. But should they both advance, Alcaraz could face No. 16 seed Ben Shelton in a mouthwatering rematch of their Toronto meeting last year.

The 21-year-old American kicks off his Miami campaign against either Jaume Munar or wild card Martin Landaluce, and he would have to also make it past No. 23 seed Lorenzo Musetti to book a date with Alcaraz. Alcaraz, on the other hand, would have to navigate past No. 32 Borna Coric and possibly an unseeded Gael Monfils.

Big-serving Hubert Hurkacz, the 2021 Miami champion, is Alcaraz’s projected quarterfinal opponent, with the Pole starting against Daniel Elahi Galan or Alexander Shevchenko in the second round. American Sebastian Korda, the No. 28 seed, looms as a potential third-round opponent for the No. 8 seed, while No. 11 seed Grigor Dimitrov and No. 19 seed Adrian Mannarino have also landed in his section.

Rounding out the top half of the draw, No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev and No. 6 seed Holger Rune are also on track for a quarterfinal collision.

Zverev, who could face Felix Auger-Aliassime or a qualifier in his first match, landed in a section that featured fellow big-servers No. 15 seed Karen Khachanov and No. 31 seed Christopher Eubanks. No. 20 Francisco Cerundolo—who enjoyed a breakout run to quarterfinals here last year—and wild card Nishikori, who is playing at his first ATP Masters 1000 event since 2021, are also in Zverev’s section.

Rune, meanwhile, could face the red-hot Alex de Minaur in the fourth round. The Dane starts against either Fabian Marozsan or a qualifier, while No. 9 seed De Minaur will kick off his Miami campaign against Alexandre Muller or Soonwoo Kwon.

No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner anchors the bottom half of the draw—where No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev, No. 5 Andrey Rublev and No. 10 Stefanos Tsitsipas all landed.

The Australian Open champion could get a fourth-round clash with an American—either No. 13 seed American Tommy Paul or No. 21 Frances Tiafoe, who are on track to meet in the third round. Sinner will start against either Pedro Cachin or a qualifier, and could face No. 25 seed Tallon Griekspoor in the third round.

The Italian’s projected quarterfinal opponent is No. 5 seed Rublev, which would be a rematch of their quarterfinal in Melbourne. The Russian has landed in a tricky section that will see him start against either Tomas Machac or wild card Darwin Blanch in the second round.

Rublev could meet No. 29 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round—should the latter advance past the winner of former world No. 1 Andy Murray vs Matteo Berrettini. The Italian is using a protected ranking to enter Miami after reaching the final at last week’s ATP Challenger event in Phoenix. No. 10 Tsitsipas and No. 17 Alexander Bublik loom as possible fourth-round opponents for Rublev.

Meanwhile, No. 7 seed Casper Ruud and No. 12 seed Taylor Fritz both landed in No. 3 seed Medvedev’s section. The Russian, who reached the final at Indian Wells last week, will face either Marton Fucsovics or Max Purcell in the second round, with a quarterfinal clash with Ruud on the horizon. Ruud starts against Pavel Kotov or Luca van Assche, with a possible clash against No. 27 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina awaiting in the third round.

Fritz, his projected fourth round opponent, landed in a section full of sleeper threats including an unseeded Jack Draper and Nuno Borges. No. 22 seed Nicolas Jarry, who toppled Alcaraz last month on clay courts of Buenos Aires, could await in round three.

The Miami Open men’s singles competition kicks off on Wednesday, while the women start on Tuesday at the Hard Rock Stadium.