Rafael Nadal has a tough task if he is to lift an incredible 10th trophy at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, following the 2017 draw ceremony at the Jardin Exotique on Friday. The Spanish star, who is vying to capture a record 50th clay-court career crown, has been drawn in the same half as two-time former titlist Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov.

Nadal, who will meet Daniel Evans or Kyle Edmund in the second round, could face No. 14 seed Alexander Zverev in the third round, prior to a quarter-final against No. 8 seed Dimitrov. Nadal overcame Zverev in five sets in the Australian Open third round in January, while he has an 8-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Dimitrov, including a pulsating five-set win in the Melbourne semi-finals.

Nadal has won 28 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, second only to Djokovic, who has a record 30 pieces of Masters 1000 silverware. Nadal, who beat Gael Monfils in the 2016 final, won a record 46 straight matches at the prestigious tournament from 2005 to 2013 and is 58-4 overall.

View Monte-Carlo Singles Draw

World No. 1 Andy Murray, who has recovered from an elbow injury to complete in the Principality, will be hoping to replicate his successful clay form last year. The Scot has reached the Monte-Carlo semi-finals in 2009, 2011 and 2016. He will face good friend Gilles Muller or wild card Tommy Robredo in the second round, with a possible quarter-final against fifth seed Marin Cilic or ninth seed and 2015 runner-up Tomas Berdych.

World No. 2 Djokovic, who has a 28-8 record at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event – including titles in 2013 (d. Nadal) and 2015 (d. Berdych), will play Gilles Simon or Malek Jaziri in his first match. Thiem, who has won six of his eight ATP World Tour titles on red dirt, or No. 10 seed David Goffin loom in the last eight.

Stan Wawrinka, the 2014 champion, who is in the same half of the draw as Murray, will challenge Mischa Zverev or Jiri Vesely in the second round. Seventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a semi-finalist in 2013 and 2016, or No. 11 seed Lucas Pouille may pose a threat to the Swiss in the quarter-finals.

There are a number of #NextGen ATP players competing at the third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the season. Alexander Zverev, who is currently at No. 20 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, faces wild card Andreas Seppi, Russian Karen Khachanov plays Nicolas Mahut, Daniil Medvedev challenges Feliciano Lopez and Borna Coric meets fellow wild card Jeremy Chardy.

Cast your mind back to Mexico in 1980. Most players were still plying their trade with wooden racquets when the inaugural event of the longest-running ATP Challenger Tour event, the San Luis Open, took place at the historic Club Deportivo Potosino, one of the most renowned sports clubs in the country.

This week the San Luis Open, one of seven Challengers to debut in the 1980s that’s still in existence today, is celebrating its 31st edition.

“I think it’s so special because it’s the oldest tournament on the Challenger tour. Great players have come here, we’ve had a former World No. 1 play here (Marcelo Rios played his last competitive match here in 2004), we get top junior players,” said Tournament Director Carlos Saiz Diaz Infante. “They like to come here because it’s a very nice site and we have a very good crowd here every day.”

The reputation of the tournament has built incrementally over the years, which Infante believes is due to the dedication of those behind the scenes.

“I think the tournament has managed to last so long because people working on the tournament have done an amazing job,” added Infante. “The team that has worked through the years, from the beginning, the founders, to all the people who have offered helped have done a great job.”

Longest-Running Tournaments On ATP Challenger Tour

The Club Deportivo Potosino manages to host hordes of ardent tennis supporters throughout the week-long event.

“I think it’s a really good tournament, with a long, impressive history,” said #NextGenATP player Stefan Kozlov. “It’s a very nice club to play at, with a phenomenal crowd, even in the night matches.”

The welcoming atmosphere and passionate crowds keep the players returning to the Mexican tennis scene.

“This tournament is very special for me. I’ve been coming here the past five years and I reached my first Challenger semi-final here in 2014 and my first final last year (l.Krstin),” said seventh seed Marcelo Arevalo. “It has given me a lot of experiences and great memories. This week, I’m still alive in singles and doubles and I’m giving 100 per cent in every match. I’m dreaming of winning this title, because it’s one of my favourite Challengers and is very well organised, it feels great.”

Kozlov, currently at No. 135 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, believes performing well at this level is vital for a player’s long-term development.

“I think it’s a great springboard into the ATP Tour. It’s tough to get there, you have to build your way up,” explained the 19-year-old. “All of those players have been on the Challenger Tour, some have played less, but I think it’s great. You don’t have the big guys here, which gives you more of a chance to play more matches.

“It’s a process, it’s going to take time to achieve your goals. It won’t all happen overnight. You just have to keep working hard, discipline is very important.”

Borna Coric ousted second seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas to reach the semi-finals of the Grand Prix Hassan II on Friday. The 20-year-old #NextGenATP player from Croatia came back from a set down to advance with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory in two hours and 30 minutes.

Coric, who last reached a semi-final at this ATP World Tour 250 tournament a year ago, next faces the winner of the match between Paolo Lorenzi and Jiri Vesely.

Granollers Records 300th Doubles Win

Marcel Granollers recorded a personal milestone 300th doubles match win as he and partner Marc Lopez advanced to the final in Marrakech. The second-seeded Spanish team defeated fourth seeds Florin Mergea and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 7-6(9), 6-7(4), 10-4 to reach the championship match. They will face either Raven Klaasen/Rajeev Ram or Dominic Inglot/Mate Pavic.

For nearly two hours, 39-year-old Tommy Haas was about even with Jack Sock, who’s been one of the hottest players on the ATP World Tour this season. But the 24 year old eventually pulled away from the former World No. 2 on Thursday, moving into the quarter-finals and winning what will likely be Haas’ final match at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston.

The top-seeded American saved four of five break points – all four saved came in the final set – to beat Haas 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 and take the lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry. Haas, who won the Houston title in 2004, had captured their first meeting at 2013 Roland Garros but Sock had prevailed in straight sets in Auckland in 2014.

“I knew it was going to be fun to go out there. Who knows how many he has left in him,” Sock said. “He gave his all. I had to come through with some good tennis in the end to win.”

The American will face Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, who beat #NextGenATP player Hyeon Chung of South Korea 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Sock is looking to win his second Houston crown after winning the tournament in 2015 for his maiden ATP World Tour title.

 Watch Full Match Replays

The Nebraska native finished off a perfect 5-0 day for Americans in Houston. Second seed John Isner hit 20 aces and didn’t face a break point to outlast Argentine qualifier Leonardo Mayer 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-3 in two hours and 16 minutes. Third seed Sam Querrey needed only 72 minutes to dismiss Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 6-4. Steve Johnson broke Germany’s Dustin Brown twice to win 7-6(12), 6-4.

In the quarter-finals, Johnson will try to earn his first win against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, who advanced to the last eight 7-6(4), 6-1 against Argentina’s Nicolas Kicker. Verdasco leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Johnson 4-0, three of which have come on clay.

The youngest American remaining in the draw celebrated reaching his first ATP World Tour quarter-final. #NextGenATP player Ernesto Escobedo won 89 per cent of his first-serve points to prevail past Brazilian Thiago Monteiro 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

On Wednesday, the 20-year-old Escobedo, who received a wild card into the main draw, earned his first ATP World Tour win on clay. The California native will meet Isner in the last eight.

“First quarter-final and it’s on clay. Would never have thought about that at all,” Escobedo said. “I feel really comfortable here. It’s a great environment.”

Which component of our game is most closely linked to becoming a Top 10 player?

The ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS, powered by the Infosys Information Platform, track six Serve categories, three Returning, and four Under Pressure areas of our game. This Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis focuses on how many in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings in the 2016 season, and also the first month of 2017, featured in the Top 10 in each of those categories.

The winner was Second Serve Points Won.

Six of the Top 10 players in the world during this period also featured in the Top 10 in Second Serve Points Won. The leaders were Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who both won 56.4 per cent, followed by Stan Wawrinka (56.3 per cent), Milos Raonic (55.3 per cent), Kei Nishikori (55.3 per cent), and Marin Cilic (54.8 per cent).

It appears that the age-old adage that you are only as good as your second serve really holds true under a statistical microscope. It was a three-way tie for the next best category, with Service Games Won, Return Games Won and Deciding Sets Won all featuring five of the Top 10 players in the world from the 2016 season.

Interestingly, the three lowest totals were Average Aces Per Match, Average Double Faults Per Match and Tie-Breaks Won, which all had just two Top 10 players in the Top 10 of their specific list. No player featured in the Top 10 in all 13 statistical categories, but Djokovic, who finished last season ranked No. 2, performed the best. He appeared in the Top 10 in eight of the 13 categories.

Novak Djokovic 2016 Season

The beating heart of Djokovic’s game clearly centers around second serves, as he finished No. 1 in Second Serve Points Won (56.4 per cent) and No. 1 in Second Serve Return Points Won (58.5 per cent). Taking that a step further, Djokovic actually fares better returning his opponent’s second serve than he does when the point starts with his own second serve. That’s also a clear message for players at all levels of the game: During practice, reduce the baseline grinding and spend more time developing these two key “first-strike” elements.

Rafael Nadal was the second best performer, appearing in the Top 10 in seven statistical categories, including No. 1 in First Serve Percentage (70.4 per cent), First Serve Return Points Won (35.5 per cent), and Return Games Won (40.8 per cent).

Raonic was next best, appearing in six Top 10 categories, leading the Top 10 in First Serve Points Won (80 per cent) and Service Games Won (90.6 per cent).

Nishikori and Federer appeared in four Top 10 ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS, while Wawrinka, Cilic and Gael Monfils were in three. Tomas Berdych made two, and Dominic Thiem reached one – second best in the Top 10 in Deciding Sets Won at 87.5 per cent.

The breakdown of these numbers clearly shows that you don’t need to be good at everything you do on a tennis court, but you must have multiple weapons to reach the elite level.