Alexander Zverev has posted some of his best results on clay courts. He reached his first tour-level final on the red clay of Nice two years ago, and just last year claimed two titles – including his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown in Rome – on the surface. But don’t dare call him a clay-court specialist. Coming into the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters at the magnificent Monte-Carlo Country Club, Zverev has had little time to adjust to the change in courts. Having gotten his 2018 season back on track by reaching the final on the hard courts of the Miami Open presented by Itau, the German had to make a quick transition to clay for the Davis Cup tie...
Since producing the best clay-court season of his career in 2017, Marin Cilic has reached two Grand Slam finals and a career-high No. 3 in the ATP Rankings. Now, as he prepares to begin his 2018 European clay season at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, this year’s second seed has a different set of expectations. "I'm feeling really good, a bit different than all the other years,” explained Cilic. “Seeded No. 2, straight away it sets up a different look at the tournament, different expectations as well and now I'm in a position where I am feeling, coming into any tournament, that I can go deep.” Cilic, who lost in three sets to eventual runner-up Albert Ramos-Vinolas in 2017, will meet...
When Dominic Thiem retired from his third-round match at Indian Wells with an ankle injury, all questions of his health pointed at the coming clay-court season. Would he recover in time to play on his favourite surface? Would he be able to defend his exceptional 2017 results? Would he be able to make a run for his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title – or even Roland Garros? As the Austrian returns to the ATP World Tour this week at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, he intends to answer those questions. “I always feel good coming to clay,” said Thiem. “I had some issues with my ankle from Indian Wells, but I think the problems are gone. I had a...
Rafael Nadal insists he has never been good with numbers, but with the sun shining at the Monte-Carlo Country Club a familiar smile has returned to his face. The Spaniard’s record at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters is staggering — 10 titles from 11 finals, a 46-match winning streak from 2005-13 and a 63-4 mark overall. “It’s been a love story between me and this event, the people who run the tournament,” Nadal said. But the tournament’s oldest champion in the Open Era (at 30 years, 10 months in 2017) is clear this week on his primary objective: to complete the tournament. After more than two weeks on the red dirt, muscle memory in how he moves, plays and constructs points...