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Top-seeded Serbian is potential QF opponent for winner of first-round clash
A meeting between fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz and 2017 champion Andy Murray headlines the first-round action at next week’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where Novak Djokovic, Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev lead the field at the hard-court ATP 500.

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Both Hurkacz and Murray will arrive in Dubai off the back of deep runs at ATP 250 level in the past week. The World No. 11 Hurkacz plays his semi-final in Marseille on Saturday, with former World No. 1 Murray due on court in the Doha championship match against Medvedev shortly after.

Hurkacz leads Murray 2-1 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series, but the pair has not played since 2021. Should the winner of the Dubai clash go on to reach the quarter-finals, they could face top seed Djokovic.

The Serbian has been drawn to play a qualifier in his first match since lifting a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title at January’s Australian Open. Djokovic, a five-time champion in Dubai, would face Tallon Griekspoor or Constant Lestienne in the second round if he prevails in his opener.

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Third seed Medvedev is a potential semi-final rival for all of Djokovic, Hurkacz and Murray. The Rotterdam champion leads the second quarter of the draw in Dubai, where he also opens against a qualifier. Medvedev’s quarter-final opponent could be the winner of a first-round matchup between eighth seed Borna Coric and Daniel Evans.

In the bottom half of the draw, Rublev begins his title defence against Filip Krajinovic, with Karen Khachanov a potential quarter-final challenger for the second seed. The 25-year-old Rublev will be playing for his sixth ATP 500 crown.

A stacked third quarter offers plenty of intriguing first-round matchups, including fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime taking on the serve-and-volley game of Maxime Cressy. Seventh seed Alexander Zverev meets the fast-rising 21-year-old Jiri Lehecka, with the winner guaranteed to face a big-serving threat in the second round from Marc-Andrea Huesler or Lorenzo Sonego.

Top seed Alcaraz opens against McDonald
Holger Rune and Ben Shelton are set to team up on the doubles court next month in Indian Wells. But before they join forces for the first time, they will contest their ATP Head2Head matchup in the singles opening round at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. Saturday's draw for the ATP 500 event also revealed Mackenzie McDonald as top seed Carlos Alcaraz's first opponent and set an all-American showdown between third seed Taylor Fritz and John Isner.

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Returning Acapulco quarter-finalist Marcos Giron, who opens against countryman Michael Mmoh, was on hand for the draw ceremony and shared his matches to watch in the opening round.

"I would want to see Mackie, a fellow American, playing against Carlitos," the 29-year-old said. "Carlitos is obviously playing great I think that would be a fun one." McDonald will be bidding to upset a Spaniard ranked at No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the second time this season after his second-round upset of Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open.

"Also Holger Rune against Ben Shelton, I think that's going to be a really good one," Giron added. "Ben's been playing great, quarter-finals of the Australian Open. Holger is young, in the Top 10 in the world. So I think that's going to be a really good match."

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Giron is one off 11 Americans in the singles main draw, not including potential qualifiers, with third seed Fritz and sixth seed Frances Tiafoe leading the way. If the American No. 1 Fritz can move past Isner in the first round, he will face the winner of another marquee opening match between Denis Shapovalov and Miomir Kecmanovic. Tiafoe opens against Japanese No. 1 Yoshihito Nishioka.

Second seed Casper Ruud will begin against a qualifier and could face J.J. Wolf in the second round. In the other half of the draw, Alcaraz's potential path could include a quarter-final against seventh seed Tommy Paul and a semi-final against Fritz.

In the doubles draw, brothers Jacopo Berrettini and Matteo Berrettini will meet Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul in the opening round. The winner of that match will play top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski or Mexcan wild cards Hans Hach Verdugo and Migiel Angel Reyes-Varelo.

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Main-draw action begins Monday, with the player-favourite tournament being held at the Arena GNP Seguros for the second year.

"Playing here in Acapulco is incredible," said Giron. "This tournament's incredible, one of the best of the year. The fans are awesome, the facilities are great, especially this new stadium. I've got nothing but good memories."

Baez aiming for second title of this year’s Golden Swing
Following a deep run in Rio de Janeiro, Nicolas Jarry is set to return to home soil and rock the house at this week’s ATP 250 event in Santiago, where he could meet fourth seed Diego Schwartzman in the second round.

Jarry’s aunt, Catalina Fillol, is the tournament director of the 2023 Movistar Chile Open, where Lorenzo Musetti, Francisco Cerundolo, and Sebastian Baez are also in action during the final week of the ‘Golden Swing’.

The Chilean Jarry earned a special exemption into his home tournament as he was still alive in the Rio de Janeiro semi-finals when the draw was made. The 27-year-old pushed World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz to three sets in the Rio semi-finals. Returning to the Top 100 for the first time since the Pepperstone ATP Rankings froze due to COVID-19 in March 2020, Jarry is set to pass countryman Cristian Garin as the Chilean No. 1 on Monday—just in time for his home tournament. He will open against Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas, who was a semi-finalist last week in Buenos Aires.

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Top seed Musetti, who is at a career-high 18 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is hoping to end his slow start to the year with a deep run on the Chilean clay. The 20-year-old will face wild card Alejandro Tabilo or Jaume Munar in the first round and is seeded to meet Schwartzman in the final four.

In intriguing opening-round action, wild cards Dominic Thiem and 2021 champion Garin will face off, with the winner drawing an encounter against third seed Baez. Rio de Janeiro semi-finalist Bernabe Zapata Miralles will face countryman Roberto Carballes Baena in their third meeting of 2023 (Pune, Cordoba). The Spaniards split their first two encounters of the season, with Zapata Miralles claiming the most recent one in Argentina.

Four Argentines are included in the bottom half of the draw and should the seedings hold, Cordoba champion Baez would face countryman Cerundolo in the semi-finals. Baez, 22, was a finalist in 2022 at the Movistar Chile Open.

After claiming his maiden tour-level title this past year in Santiago, Pedro Martinez will open his title defence against a qualifier.