Source: Sports Weekly All Media
Sports Weekly All Media Special Correspondent Yi Sang
This year’s first clay-court masters tournament – Monte Carlo announced the men’s singles main draw, which also means that the two-month-long European clay-court season has officially kicked off, and Djokovic will officially start at this station. Announcing his return, he and Alcaraz, who just won the championship in Miami, may meet in advance in the quarter-finals, and the three world top ten Medvedev, Nadal and Berrettini are absent due to injury.
This is only Djokovic’s second game this year. After losing in the quarter-finals in Dubai at the end of February, he handed over the world number one to Medvedev, but due to the latter’s poor record in the “Sunshine Doubles” in North America Jia, he returned the top spot for three weeks to Djokovic, so in the past month or so when he didn’t play, Djokovic’s world No. 1 was a lost one.
Djokovic’s first opponent will be between Davidovic and Geelong. Among them, Davidovic has good clay-court strength. He reached the quarter-finals at the French Open last year. As a potential opponent for his clay-court debut, he has a certain threat. The opponents in the third round are even more promising. They are likely to be between Agut, Evans and Goffin. Among them, Agut is an old enemy. Evans defeated Djokovic in Monte Carlo last year. Finn just reached 300 career wins this week and has reached the semi-finals in Marrakech.
As for the opponent in the quarter-finals, it is likely to be the “popular fried chicken” Alcalás. During the period when Djokovic disappeared, Alcaraz was in the limelight. He first won the Rio 500, then reached the semi-finals in Indian Wells, and then won his first Masters championship in Miami. The ranking also jumped to the 11th place. Since then, many people have begun to expect that the two will be able to make a move, but they did not expect it to be possible so soon!
The number one in the world today is against the “popular fried chicken”, and the odds of winning the French Open this year are second only to Nadal, so this must be a much-anticipated showdown. However, Alcaraz’s place in the quarter-finals is not easy. The opponent in the first battle may be another post-00, clay-court American Korda. In the third round, he may encounter the Indian Wells Masters champion Fritz, or Former US Open champion Cilic.
The winner of the two is likely to meet Ruud in the semifinals. The Norwegian has made great strides on hard ground in the past six months. He lost to Alcaraz in the final of the just-concluded Miami Masters. But clay is Rude’s “birthday”. He has reached the semi-finals of the clay masters three times, including last year’s Monte Carlo. This time, Rudd may encounter Karatsev in the first battle, and the opponents in the quarter-finals will be between Nori, Hulkach, Monfils or the former runner-up Ramos.
The defending champion Tsitsipas is divided into the lower half. He may encounter another former champion Fognini in the first battle. The third round potential opponents Sonego and Jerai are also very good at clay-court battles, and the quarter-finals are against each other. The big seed is Aliasim, but the Canadian post-00s have been in a mediocre state recently, but the Argentine Schwarzman and the Italian post-00s Musetti have more chances.
Zverev, who has been in a bad state and has been controversial recently, is ranked No. 2. His first opponent may be Delbonis, who is outstanding on clay. The third round opponent will be between Busta and Bublik. Ben Zverev also lost to Bublik in the season, and he is more likely to encounter Sinner or Rublev in the quarter-finals. It is worth mentioning that Wawrinka, the three-time Grand Slam winner and former champion of the tournament, will play as a wild card, and he will face Bublik in his first match.Return to Sohu, see more
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