Scouting Report: Djokovic, Tsitsipas, Alcaraz Among Monte-Carlo Headliners

The ATP Tour’s European clay-court swing will open in style with the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the season’s third ATP Masters 1000 event and its first on clay.

Two-time champion Novak Djokovic, back at World No. 1, will lead the field in his first competitive action since Dubai in February. Defending champ Stefanos Tsitsipas is seeking his first title of 2022, while Miami champ Carlos Alcaraz looks to build on the biggest title of his young career.

ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch this week.

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1) Djokovic Returns For Second ATP Tour Event of 2022: After a Dubai quarter-final loss saw him cede the top spot in the ATP Rankings, Djokovic enters Monte-Carlo back at World No. 1. But his status as top seed did not hand him an easy draw: He could face Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, and could see 14th seed Roberto Bautista Agut or Daniel Evans in the third round, with the Brit ending his 2021 Monte-Carlo run in the last 16 one year ago.

On Monday, Djokovic will begin his 365th week atop the ATP Rankings, extending his own record. The 34-year-old lifted the Monte-Carlo title in 2013 and 2015, and holds a 35-12 record at the Monaco event. 

2) Tsitsipas Seeded Third For Title Defense: Tsitsipas’ 2021 Monte-Carlo title began a purple patch for the Greek on the red clay. After claiming the trophy without dropping a set, he reached the Barcelona final, won the title in Lyon and reached his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros. 

All seven of Tsitsipas’ tour-level titles have come in Europe, as did his best ATP Tour result of the 2022 season to date — a final run in Rotterdam. He enters Monte-Carlo after posting a 3-2 record in Indian Wells and Miami, his fourth-round loss to Alcaraz in South Florida standing out as one of the matches of the young season. The Greek will open against a qualifier in Monaco.

3) Alcaraz Back On The Clay: The 18-year-old Spaniard grew up on clay courts, but after he blitzed to a 10-1 record in reaching the Indian Wells semi-finals and winning his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami, many wondered if hard courts might suit his game best.

“All I can say is I’ve got two titles on clay and one on hard court,” Alcaraz said. “I feel very comfortable in both surfaces, so I don’t mind playing on clay or on hard court.”

His two clay titles came in Umag last July and Rio de Janeiro in February, and he carries a career-high ATP Ranking of World No. 11 into Monte-Carlo. Seeded eighth in Monaco, he could face a third-round showdown with Indian Wells champ Taylor Fritz ahead of a potential quarter-final against Djokovic.

4) Zverev Seeks Monte-Carlo Breakthrough: Alexander Zverev is a five-time ATP Masters 1000 champion, including three titles on European red clay. The German World No. 3’s best Monte-Carlo result came in 2018, when he reached the semi-finals. He holds an 8-5 record at the event, but is 2-2 in his last two appearances, bowing out in the last 16 each time.

Zverev’s best result of 2022 came when he reached the Montpellier final, where he lost to first-time ATP Tour champ Alexander Bublik. He enters the European clay swing off of a quarter-final showing in Miami. 

5) Ruud To Back Up Surprise Miami Final: Casper Ruud surprised himself by reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 title on the Miami hard courts. Now back on his favoured clay, the fourth seed will look to improve upon his Monte-Carlo semi-final run one year ago. He also reached the Madrid semis in 2021.

Six of Ruud’s seven ATP Tour titles have come on clay, though he is still seeking his first Masters 1000 trophy. After a first-round bye, the Norwegian could face Aslan Karatsev in the second round.

6) Top 10 Seeds Can Add To Trophy Count: In addition to Alcaraz, four other Top 10 seeds enter Monte-Carlo with at least one 2022 ATP Tour title to their name: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Andrey Rublev, Cameron Norrie and Taylor Fritz.

Both Alcaraz and Rublev have two titles on the season. They join three-time titlist Rafael Nadal as the only multiple-trophy winners on the year in singles, with the Spaniard set to miss out on Monte-Carlo with a rib stress fracture.

7) Wild Cards Wawrinka, Tsonga Add Intrigue: Former Top 5 players Stan Wawrinka and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, born 20 days apart, are both ranked outside the Top 200 entering Monte-Carlo. Wawrinka, 37, is making his first ATP Tour appearance in over a year, since Doha last March, following two left-foot surgeries in 2021.

The Swiss, who is also playing doubles with Auger-Aliassime, faces Bublik in the opening round. France’s Tsonga, 36, recently announced that he will retire at Roland Garros next month. The Frenchman will open against Marin Cilic.

8) #NextGenATP Stars In Action: In addition to Alcaraz, Italians Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti will lead the way for the younger generation in Monte-Carlo. 

Ninth seed Sinner faces Borna Coric in the opening round, while Musetti takes on Benoit Paire. Sinner, 20, is making his second Monte-Carlo appearance after a second-round showing in his 2021 debut. Musetti, also 20, is seeking his first win in Monaco after a first-round exit in his debut last season.

9) Fognini Defending ATP Ranking Points: While Fabio Fognini is no longer the defending champion in Monte-Carlo, he is defending 500 ATP Ranking points from his 2019 title run — 50 per cent of the initial 1,000 points he earned as champion. Those 500 points represent 37 per cent of the World No. 32 Italian’s ranking points.

10) Ram/Salisbury Lead Doubles Draw: Joe Salisbury rose to the top of the ATP Rankings for the first time following his run to the Indian Wells quarter-finals with longtime partner Rajeev Ram. The pairing has been rewarded with the top seed in Monte-Carlo as it seeks a first ATP Tour title of 2022. Croatia’s Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic follow as the second seeds, after Pavic lost his World No. 1 ranking to the Briton.

A number of singles stars are also in the Monte-Carlo draw. In addition to the Auger-Aliassime/Wawrinka partnership, the likes of Zverev, Tsitsipas, Rublev and Fritz also feature, as well as the high-powered pairing of Hubert Hurkacz and Sinner.