RICKY’S PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS FOR THE MONTE-CARLO ROLEX MASTERS TENNIS

Written by: Staff on 15th April 2017

RICKY'S PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS FOR THE MONTE-CARLO ROLEX MASTERS TENNIS

epa05260277 Rafael Nadal of Spain returns the ball to Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland during their quarter final match at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tournament in Roquebrune Cap Martin, France, 15 April 2016. EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER |

Ricky’s preview and predictions for the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters

By Ricky Dimon

The clay-court season is picking up the pace this week with the first of three Masters 1000 tournaments in Monte-Carlo. It marks the return of the world’s top two players, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Djokovic took the court for Davis Cup duty to help Serbia defeat Spain in the quarterfinals, but he has not played an ATP event since falling to Nick Kyrgios in Indian Wells. Murray also missed the Miami Masters because of an elbow issue and has not taken the court since losing his Indian Wells opener at the hands of Vasek Pospisil.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal is aiming for his 10th title in Monte-Carlo—just as he will be doing at the French Open in a couple of months. Nadal won’t have to deal with Roger Federer, against whom the Spaniard is 0-3 this year, because the reigning Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami champion is likely skipping the clay-court season at least until Roland Garros.

Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters

Prize money: 4,273,775 Euros

Top seed: Andy Murray

Defending champion: Rafael Nadal

Draw analysis: Djokovic, Nadal, and Dominic Thiem all find themselves on the bottom side of the bracket. Grigor Dimitrov is also there, but he has taken his foot off the gas pedal since winning titles in Brisbane and Sofia to go along with a semifinal run at the Aussie Open. Nadal and Dimitrov are on a collision course for the quarters in what would be a rematch of their five-setter in the semifinals Down Under. It goes without saying, though, that there is a long way to go before that potential showdown. Nadal may face Alexander Zverev in the third round, while Dimitrov is likely to run into Roberto Bautista Agut at that point.

As for Thiem, some of his best friends on the ATP Tour have become familiar foes and more of the same is in the cards Monte-Carlo. The Austrian is also ready scheduled to face Zverev in the doubles first round for a third consecutive Masters 1000 tournament. He is also in line to meet David Goffin in the singles third round. The winner of that possible contest would likely earn a quarterfinal date with Djokovic.

A seemingly softer top half of the draw should set up well for Stan Wawrinka—and to an even greater extent if Murray shows signs of rust, which would not be surprising. A relatively tough clay-court draw also awaits the world No. 1, who could get things started against Tommy Robredo before a potential showdown with current Marrakech finalist Philipp Kohlschreiber. Wawrinka’s section is soft, but he could encounter some trouble in the form of either Pablo Cuevas (third round) or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (quarters).

First-round upset alert: Fabio Fognini over (13) Pablo Carreno Busta. Carreno Busta was the most surprising semifinalist in Indian Wells and Fognini enjoyed that same distinction in Miami. One, however, will be bounced out of Monte-Carlo before even the second round. Carreno Busta is sweeping the head-to-head series 4-0, but two of their meetings have required final sets and a Sao Paulo quarterfinal earlier in 2017 ended in a second-set tiebreaker. And–of course–with Fognini, he can beat just about any opponent on any given day if he wakes up on the right side of the bed.

Quarterfinal picks: Philipp Kohlschreiber over Tomas Berdych, Stan Wawrinka over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Rafael Nadal over Roberto Bautista Agut, and Dominic Thiem over Novak Djokovic

Semifinals: Wawrinka over Kohlschreiber and Nadal over Thiem

Final: Nadal over Wawrinka