MONTE CARLO: Returning to the ATP Tour this week at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Novak Djokovic will lead the field at the first Masters 1000 stop of the clay swing, scheduled to be played at the namesake club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France between April 9-16.
The top-seeded Serbian could face in-form Italian Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals and is seeded to meet Miami champion Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo. Djokovic, who is aiming to consolidate his position at No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, will open against Brandon Nakashima or Mackenzie McDonald.
In the third round, the World No. 1 could face 16th seed Lorenzo Musetti. In 2021, the 35-year-old defeated Musetti in a five-set thriller at Roland Garros. Djokovic is a two-time champion in Monaco, having won in 2013 and 2015.
Jannik Sinner arrives in Monte Carlo after reaching his second ATP Masters 1000 final, this time in Miami. He will play Diego Schwartzman or David Goffin in his first clay-court tournament of 2023.
Medvedev has a 29-3 record this season and four trophies to his name. Chasing his first clay-court title, the third seed will face Italian wild card Lorenzo Sonego or a qualifier in his opening match before facing German Alexander Zverev in the third round. Medvedev currently leads the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.
Holger Rune, who won his first Masters 1000 title in Paris last year, could face Medvedev in the quarter-finals. The sixth seed will face either wild card Dominic Thiem or Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the first round. The Dane could face Cameron Norrie or Matteo Berrettini in the third round.
Chasing his third consecutive title in Monte-Carlo, Stefanos Tsitsipas anchors the bottom half of the draw.
The second seed, who is 12-2 in the Principality, will face Benjamin Bonzi or Bernabe Zapata Miralles in his opening match before facing eighth-seeded American Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals. Fritz will face either 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka or Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the first round.
The fourth seed Casper Ruud won eight of his nine tour-level titles on clay. In his first match in Monte-Carlo, the 2021 semi-finalist faces Botic van de Zandschulp or a qualifier, and he could face former World No. 1 Andy Murray in the third round. Fifth seed Andrey Rublev, who reached the Monte-Carlo final in 2021, could be the Norwegian’s quarter-final opponent.
Murray plays 14th seed Alex de Minaur in the first round, while Miami semi-finalist Karen Khachanov takes on 2022 Monte-Carlo finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. (ANI)