The clay-court swing heats up in a big way with this week’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where 10 of the top 12 players in the world are taking the court. Defending French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz is kicking off his 2025 clay campaign, Alexander Zverev is looking to dig out of a prolonged slump, and Novak Djokovic is once again seeking title No. 100.
It should be an exciting eight days in the principality. Here is a breakdown of this Masters 1000 draw and my picks.
Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters
Where: Monte-Carlo, Monaco
Surface: Clay
Points: 1000
Prize money: 6,128,940 Euros
Top seed: Alexander Zverev
Defending champion: Stefanos Tsitsipas
Draw analysis: When motivated, Djokovic certainly remains a contender to win the sport’s biggest titles. The 37-year-old Serb was a semifinalist at the Australian Open and finished runner-up at the Miami Masters. There are plenty of reasons to think he will be motivated in Monte-Carlo. One: he lost a competitive Miami final against Jakub Mensik as a heavy favorite; two: he has not lifted the Monte-Carlo trophy since 2015; three: his next title will be No. 100.
Djokovic finds himself in a favorable section of the draw in which the other two highest-ranked players are Alex de Minaur and Daniil Medvedev, neither of whom are particularly comfortable on clay. The two-time Monte-Carlo winner could face familiar foes Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov in rounds two and three, respectively. The other quarter in the top half of the bracket is absolutely stacked. It is a rough road for the top-seeded Zverev, who could meet Matteo Berrettini in the second round, Lorenzo Musetti in the last 16, and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals.
On the other side, Alcaraz awaits a likely opening match against Miami quarterfinalist Francisco Cerundolo. Given that the Argentine is also excellent on clay, Alcaraz could be in trouble. The third-ranked Spaniard’s section is also home to Andrey Rublev, Arthur Fils, and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Elsewhere in the bottom half, Casper Ruud’s quarter looks wide open and also includes Jack Draper, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Denis Shapovalov, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Ruud has been struggling of late, but a return to clay should be just what the doctor ordered for the two-time Roland Garros runner-up.
Hot: Jack Draper, Arthur Fils, Grigor Dimitrov, Alex de Minaur, Francisco Cerundolo, Sebastian Baez, Tallon Griekspoor, Tomas Machac, Brandon Nakashima
Cold: Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Richard Gasquet, Fabio Fognini, Stan Wawrinka, Alejandro Tabilo, Nicolas Jarry
Quarterfinal predictions: Lorenzo Musetti over Holger Rune, Novak Djokovic over Sebastian Baez, Casper Ruud over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Arthur Fils over Francisco Cerundolo
Semifinals: Djokovic over Musetti and Ruud over Fils
Final: Djokovic over Ruud
WWW?
Pretty similar, Djoko over Tsitsi in semis , having beaten Machac in the QF.
Djoko this year is different from last year
Really tough draw for Tsitsi – players with a great record here, and against him.
Almost the same, except have Tsisti and Machac going further.
Tough draw for Stefanos can see him going out to Rune who also a great record here.
If the real Alcaraz turns up, can win the whole thing
“can” or “will”?
The ‘real’ Alcaraz ,more than likely
But will he turn up ? Big If
‘Pretty similar , almost the same’ double post lol
Djokovic winning this tournament after a 10 year gap is a bit of a stretch.
why?
Agree w/above, too much competition for Joker…..I’ll take Alcaraz to win