Djokovic Top Seed, Alcaraz Hot on His Heels

The 2023 Italian Open draw is out, and like Madrid, there’s no Rafael Nadal, but defending champion Novak Djokovic returns to action.

Djokovic enters the draw as the top seed, but he won’t be able to maintain his spot at the top of the rankings, with Carlos Alcaraz hot on his heels needing to play just one match to usurp the Serb.

Djokovic skipped Madrid after struggling with an elbow issue in Monte Carlo and Banja Luka, but he’s been practising in Marbella, seemingly without issue.

You can see the tournament info, seeds and full draw below.

Tournament Info

Italian Open 2023 Seeds

Novak Djokovic
Carlos Alcaraz
Daniil Medvedev
Casper Ruud
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Andrey Rublev
Holger Rune
Jannik Sinner
Taylor Fritz
Felix Auger-Aliassime
Karen Khachanov
Frances Tiafoe
Cameron Norrie
Hubert Hurkacz
Borna Coric
Tommy Paul
Alex de Minaur
Lorenzo Musetti
Alexander Zverev
Daniel Evans
Roberto Bautista Agut
Sebastian Korda
Botic van de Zandschulp
Francisco Cerundolo
Yoshihito Nishioka
Grigor Dimitrov
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Ben Shelton
Tallon Griekspoor
Miomir Kecmanovic
Bernabe Zapata Miralles
Jiri Lehecka

2023 Italian Open Draw

Top Half

Bottom Half

Full PDF Printable draw.

Thoughts on the Draw

Djokovic enters Rome as the top speed, and he has a potentially tricky opening match, facing either Luca Van Assche or Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Both players have shown form this season, with the latter making two clay court finals in Santiago and Houston, while Van Assche gave Novak plenty to think about in Banja Luka, with the Serb needing three sets to see him off.

Dimitrov or Wawrinka are also in this section and could meet Novak in the third round. Also in this quarter sit Holger Rune, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Cam Norrie and Seb Korda.

In the other quarter of the top half, Casper Ruud is the fourth seed, and he’s joined by Jannik Sinner, who will be looking to improve his quarter-final appearance at the Foro Italico from last year.

In the bottom half of the draw, second seed Carlos Alcaraz is bidding to win his third clay court title on the spin after landing titles in Barcelona and Madrid. The Spaniard will open his tournament against either Francesco Passaro or Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas and 

Tsitsipas is also in this quarter, along with home favourite Lorenzo Musetti, but from what I’ve seen so far this year, Alcaraz’s level is much higher than any of the competition this half can bring.

Daniil Medvedev is the third seed on the other side of Alcaraz’s half, and he could meet Andrey Rublev in the quarter-final. However, he doesn’t have an easy opening match either, with either Ugo Humbert or Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori his opposition.

Interesting First-Round Matches

Who is your pick for the title? Let me know in the comments.