Alex de Minaur and John Millman will begin their campaigns at the Madrid Open on Tuesday, along with top seed Novak Djokovic and Swiss master Roger Federer.

Australian No.1 De Minaur is chasing a first win on clay this year when he faces Polish qualifier Hubert Hurkacz in their opening round encounter in the Spanish capital while his compatriot Millman will take on American Steve Johnson.

World No.27 de Minaur was a shock first-round loser in Estoril last week while world No.48 Millman was forced to retire due to injury in his second-round clash in Portugal.

The Masters 1000 tournaments in Madrid and next week in Rome are the key warm-up events for the year’s second grand slam, the French Open which starts on May 26.

In first-round action in Madrid on Monday, Marin Cilic saved four match points to beat Slovakian qualifier Martin Klizan 6-4 2-6 7-6 (7-0).

Croatian ninth seed Cilic had lost his previous four matches on tour but triumphed in two hours 48 minutes to set up a meeting with Nick Kyrgios’s conqueror Jan-Lennard Struff.

American Taylor Fritz made it through qualifying for the first time this season and continued that form to upset Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (7-4) to set up a second round showdown with world No.1 Djokovic.

“It’s a pleasure to be back here,” Djokovic told reporters on Monday.

“I’ve had very good successes and some good results here in the past. And I’m happy to be healthy playing here.”

Russian 11th seed Karen Khachanov outlasted Jaume Munar 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 in a three-hour battle while 15th-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils breezed past Andreas Seppi 6-3 6-1.

Richard Gasquet ousted Spanish wildcard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to set up a second-round match-up against fourth-seeded Federer, who is making his return to clay-court tournaments after two seasons.

Other Americans to reach the second round on Monday were Frances Tiafoe and Reilly Opelka while Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Laslo Djere also advanced.