European Clay Court Circuit Begins: The European clay court circuit begins with the third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the season as the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters gets underway Sunday at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. This is the first of three Masters 1000 tournaments played on clay (Madrid, Rome). The outstanding field features nine of the Top 10 in the Emirates ATP Rankings (first time since 2009). Overall, there are 15 of the Top 20 in the 56-player draw. It’s also the first time since 2009 the “Big Four” of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are playing together in Monte-Carlo. They have combined to win 90 Masters 1000 titles. There are three former champions in the field: Djokovic (2013, ’15), Stan Wawrinka (2014) and Nadal (2005-12).

Big Four Domination: In 50 of the past 54 Masters 1000 tournaments, since ’10 Monte-Carlo, one of the Big Four has lifted the trophy. During that stretch, Djokovic has won 23 titles; Nadal, 12; Federer, eight; and Murray, seven. The only exceptions came at ’10 Paris-Bercy (Soderling), ‘12 Paris-Bercy (Ferrer) and in 2014 in Monte-Carlo (Wawrinka) and Toronto (Tsonga).

Novak on a Roll: Reigning champion Djokovic is playing in Monte-Carlo for the 10^th time in 11 years (except ’11) and the two-time winner (’13, ’15) has reached the semi-finals or better in his past seven appearances. Overall, he has a 28-7 career record. The 28-year-old Serb is off to a 28-1 start this season. He won his 11th career Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open and captured the first two Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Miami for the third straight year and fourth overall (’11). Djokovic has won the past four Masters 1000 titles going back to Shanghai last season. Since the beginning of last year, Djokovic has compiled an 110-7 match record, winning 15 titles in 19 finals (21 tournaments played).

Roger Returns: Federer, who is playing in Monte-Carlo for the 13^th time in his career, makes his return to the ATP World Tour after undergoing knee surgery on Feb. 3. The 34-year-old Swiss superstar planned to return in Miami but withdrew due to gastroenteritis. Prior to his injury, Federer reached the final in Brisbane (l. to Raonic) and the semi-finals at the Australian Open (l. to Djokovic) on Jan. 28. The four-time finalist (2006-08, 2014) has a 28-12 record in Monte-Carlo. The only other tournament he has played more than without winning the title is Rome (15 times).

April Favourite Month for Rafa: Nadal’s most productive month is April, with 15 of his 67 career titles coming in the fourth month of the year. His other successful months include May (12), June (11) and July (7). Nadal has a 53-4 career record in Monte-Carlo with a tournament record eight titles. He won eight titles in a row from 2005-12 and his 46-match winning streak ended with a runner-up finish in 2013. His latest title came in 2012 (d. Djokovic). Over the past three years, he is 9-3 with a runner-up in 2013 (l. to Djokovic), quarter-finals in 2014 (l. to Ferrer) and semi-finals last year (l. to Djokovic). Nadal comes in with a 12-6 match record on the season (4-2 on clay) and he was a semi-finalist in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. This is the fifth time since 2005 Nadal enters Monte-Carlo without a title on the season. Four times he captured his first title of the year in Monte-Carlo: 2008, 2010-11-12.

Murray Back in Monaco: Murray returns to Monte-Carlo for the first time since 2013 when he lost in the 3R (Wawrinka). Murray is a two-time semi-finalist in Monte-Carlo in 2009 and ’11 (l. to Nadal both times). Murray has an 11-7 tournament record. Last year he won his maiden clay title at the Masters 1000 in Madrid.

Ivo Returns, Eyes Milestone: The oldest player in the singles draw, 37-year-old Ivo Karlovic, makes his return to the ATP World Tour after being sidelined with a knee injury. Karlovic, who is 0-4 this year, last played on Feb. 23 in Acapulco (l. to Bedene in 1R). Karlovic is also trying to earn his 300^th career match win (299-267).

Strong Doubles Field: Eight of the Top 10 teams in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings are entered in the draw, led by No. 1 and Australian Open champions Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares. The reigning champions are five-time winners (2007, 2011-12, 2014-15) Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan. They won their first title of the year last week in Houston. They now have won a record 110 career titles together (35 ATP Masters 1000, 16 Grand Slam). The Bryans are making their 10^th straight trip to Monte-Carlo and 13^th overall. They have a 30-6 career match record. The top seeds are last year’s No. 1 duo Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau.

Team to Watch: The French duo of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings, are trying to become only the second team in ATP Masters 1000 history (since 1990) to win the first three Masters 1000 titles of the season. They won back-to-back titles in Indian Wells (d. Pospisil/Sock) and Miami (d. Klaasen/R. Ram), and they enter Monte-Carlo on a 10-match winning streak.

ICYMI

Juan Monaco won his ninth career title and second Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship championship. Read

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won their first title of the year in Houston. Read

Federico Delbonis won his second ATP World Tour title at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech. Read

Maximo Gonzalez and Guillermo Duran won their first team ATP World Tour crown in Marrakech. Read

Rankings Movers

Juan Monaco 86 (+62)

Malek Jaziri 74 (+20)

Federico Delbonis 36 (+11)

Taylor Fritz 69 (+10)

Borna Coric 42 (+6)

Paul-Henri Mathieu 58 (+5)

Ivan Dodig 76 (+4)

Thomaz Bellucci 35 (+2)

Birthdays

10 April – Thanasi Kokkinakis (20)

10 April – Elias Ymer (20)

12 April – Nicholas Monroe (34)

12 April – Marcel Granollers (30)

14 April – Roberto Bautista Agut (28)

17 April – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (31)

17 April – Wesley Koolhof (27)

Federico Delbonis will return to the Top 40 of the Emirates ATP Rankings following a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Borna Coric in the final of the Grand Prix Hassan II on Sunday.

“I’m very happy to win again on the ATP World Tour,” said Delbonis. “I played at a great level today and it’s great to lift the trophy here. I took my chances, but it was not easy. In the end, I did my job and got the victory. This is what I work for. To win at this level, you have to be mentally focused the whole match.”

The 35-year-old Argentine claimed his second ATP World Tour title, following his maiden triumph more than two years ago on the clay of Sao Paulo in 2014. Seeded fourth, Delbonis fired four aces and saved all three break points faced to emerge with the Marrakech trophy, denying Coric’s bid to become the first teen titlist on the ATP World Tour since 2008.

The 19 year old looked to be up to the task in the early stages, but Delbonis’ consistency from the baseline gave the Croat little margin for error. Delbonis secured the first break of the match in the fourth game, as a Coric backhand found the net, and he would proceed to claim the opener 6-2 after 42 minutes.

Both players remained on serve through the first eight games of the second set, before Coric put himself on the brink of forcing a decider. A Delbonis unforced error gave him two break points at 15/40, but the Argentine rose to the occasion, denying both and reeling off 10 of the next 13 points to snatch the victory after one hour and 29 minutes. A break to 15 would seal the win for the Argentine, who became the first player from his country to prevail at the Grand Prix Hassan II since Mariano Puerta in 2005.

Delbonis takes home €82,450 in prize money and 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points. He is projected to rise to World No. 36, just two spots off his career-high position. The Argentine entered Marrakech in top form after stunning Andy Murray in the third round of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells last month. Delbonis proceeded to not drop a set all week in the Moroccan city, joining doubles champions Guillermo Duran and Maximo Gonzalez in an all-Argentine winners’ circle.

One of nine ATP World Tour titlists born in the 1990s, Delbonis’ victory accounts for title No. 27 in the group. Coric, meanwhile, fell in his quest for a first crown in his second attempt. The NextGen star previously lost to Stan Wawrinka in the Chennai title match to open the season. He earns €43,430 in prize money and 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points.

“It was a tough match for me today,” said Coric. “I didn’t find any solutions. I had an opportunity in the second set but unfortunately I couldn’t break him. Nevertheless, I’m happy with my start in the clay season and I’m looking forward to Monte-Carlo.”

Both Delbonis and Coric will next compete in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, which began on Sunday. The Argentine opens against 2010 runner-up Fernando Verdasco, while the Croat faces Philipp Kohlschreiber, with a potential Wawrinka rematch looming in the second round.

A LOOK BACK

Open De Guadeloupe (Le Gosier, Guadeloupe): In a battle pitting youth against experience, No. 3 seed Malek Jaziri defeated American teenager Stefan Kozlov, 6-2, 6-4. The win gives the 32-year-old Tunisian the fifth ATP Challenger Tour title of his career and his second in the last four weeks. Jaziri also prevailed last month at the $100,000 tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Despite the loss, Kozlov can consider this week a success. He matched his previous best career result, which came in 2014 by reaching the finals of the $100,000 tournament in Sacramento. The 18-year-old is also projected to rise from No. 295 in the Emirates ATP Rankings to a career-high standing of No. 225.

Capri Watch Cup (Napoli, Italy): In a battle of unseeded players, Jozef Kovalik easily prevailed in the championship match against Arthur De Greef, 6-3, 6-2. The win was particularly impressive since De Greef had not dropped a set all week leading into the final.

Kovalik earned his second ATP Challenger Tour singles title, with his first coming at Meerbusch in 2014. He’s also projected to move into the Top 150 of the Emirates ATP Rankings with this week, a huge climb from his ranking of No. 256 at the start of the season.

A LOOK AHEAD

Two tournaments are the on the calendar this week, with the $100,000 event in Sarasota, Florida, taking top billing. This always-popular tournament returns for the eighth straight year and has an illustrious list of past champions including Kei Nishikori, James Blake, Nick Kyrgios and Sam Querrey. World No. 59 Denis Kudla is the top seed, while #NextGen stars Jared Donaldson (No. 8 seed), Frances Tiafoe and Quentin Halys also look to make their mark this week. Another notable name in the draw is former World No. 20 Dmitry Tursunov.

The $50,000 tournament in Barletta, Italy, also returns this week after a four-year absence. This prestigious tournament features an exceptional array of past champions including Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet, Sergi Bruguera, Felix Mantilla and Carlos Costa. This year’s top seed is Rogerio Dutra Silva, but he has a difficult opening match in former World No. 33 Andrey Golubev. Adam Pavlasek, who has reached two ATP Challenger Tour finals this year, is the No. 3 seed, while #NextGen star Elias Ymer is the No. 8 seed. Other notable names in the draw include former World No. 25 Julien Benneteau and former World No. 58 Maximo Gonzalez.

A new edition to the calendar this year is the $50,000 event in Gwangju, Korea. World No. 83 Ricardis Berankis is the No. 1 seed, while veteran Japanese players Tatsuma Ito and Go Soeda are the No. and No. 3 seeds, respectively. Other notable names in the draw include 2012 Wimbledon men’s doubles champion Frederik Nielsen and former World No. 39 Marinko Matosevic.

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There was French success on Day 1 of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Sunday as 15^th seed Gilles Simon and Jeremy Chardy both booked second-round berth.

Simon was a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Viktor Troicki, advancing in one hour and 46 minutes. The 31-year-old Frenchman saved six of the seven break points he faced, while breaking Troicki three times to beat the Serb for the sixth time in six meetings.

Simon reached the semi-finals of this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tournament in 2012, losing to Rafael Nadal.

Chardy defeated Andrey Kuznetsov 7-6(3), 7-5 in one hour and 54 minutes in a match featuring nine breaks of serve. The 29-year-old Chardy bounced back from three opening round exits on the ATP World Tour, claiming his first victory since reaching the Delray Beach quarter-finals (l. to del Potro).

In the final round of qualifying, Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Stephane Robert enjoyed hard-fought wins. Herbert battled back to edge former World No. 8 Mikhail Youzhny 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-4, while Robert finished strongly in a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 win over Monegasque Benjamin Balleret.

Jan-Lennard Struff set a first-round clash on Monday with Dominic Thiem as he defeated Hugo Nys 6-2, 6-3, while Miami giant-killer Damir Dzumhur, who stunned Nadal last month, qualified with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Thomas Fabbiano. Completing the main draw field are Filip Krajinovic and Taro Daniel.

One of Nadal’s happy hunting grounds, where he boasted an untouchable dynasty from 2005-’12, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters has been a home away from home for the 29 year old. With a run to the semi-finals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells at his back, he says he is playing with the right mentality to open what he hopes to be another fruitful European clay-court season.

“It’s always good to be here,” said Nadal. “I always have special feelings and I’m happy to be back. It’s the right place to be to play tennis. I had good practices in Mallorca and here and I hope to be ready for the action… I am here to try my best in every match and I don’t know how far I can go, but I will try my best to play well.

“I don’t have the stressful feelings like I had last year. I’m feeling much better with myself. The confidence is always the same. After Indian Wells, my confidence has been very high. I want to start the competition now and we’ll see how I play here.”

Nadal arrives at the first clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the year seeded fifth, slated to open against either Lukas Rosol or Aljaz Bedene. A potential quarter-final encounter against fourth seed and 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka looms large, but the Manacor native says he is taking it one step at a time in his return to Monte-Carlo. A second-round exit two weeks ago in Miami, having retired against Damir Dzumhur due to illness, was merely a hiccup after what was a very successful campaign in Indian Wells. 

“It was an important tournament and one that I like a lot,” Nadal said about Indian Wells, where he  notched his first Top 10 win of the year over Kei Nishikori. “It always gives me positive feelings and energy. I played well, won a few matches against tough opponents. I had the right result there, but it’s disappointing what happened in Miami. It was an accident and part of sport life. I want to continue going in a similar way.”

As Nadal embarks on his quest to lift the trophy in the Principality for the first time in four years, he admits he is not the one to beat. That honour rests with World No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic.

“Everybody wants to be in his position now. When you win it’s easier to keep winning and when you lose it’s easier to keep losing. It’s always those same dynamics, especially with an unbelievable player like him. It’s difficult to stop. He’s going to be the favourite for every tournament until somebody shows something different. He’s the player of the moment without a doubt. Everyone sees him as the winner.”

Nadal will begin his bid for a ninth Monte-Carlo crown on Wednesday.

Stan Wawrinka’s 2015 season, in which the Swiss went a career-best 55-18 with four titles, is a tough act to follow. But, coming into the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters with a 15-4 record and two titles in 2016, the No. 4 player in the Emirates ATP Rankings is well on his way to duplicating the feat.

“Even if I have a lot of points to defend in this part of the season, the pressure is on all year long,” acknowledged Wawrinka, who retained his Chennai title in the first week of the year before capturing the Dubai crown over Marcos Baghdatis. “My goal is to qualify for the [Barclays ATP World Tour Finals], so I have to win on a weekly basis.”

The clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events could prove critical for Wawrinka. The 2014 Monte-Carlo champion (d. Federer) is 17-7 at the event, but is only defending a third-round appearance (l. to Dimitrov last year). Consequently, he stands to make up significant ground on the Novak Djokovic-Andy Murray-Roger Federer triumvirate with a strong showing this week.

“Of course I am happy every year to return to clay. It’s a surface that I love. I’m happy with my progress in training so far,” Wawrinka said. “Monte Carlo is a very enjoyable tournament for us, the players. The setting is magnificent. The conditions are ideal. It’s a Masters 1000, so I have to be ready from the start and hope to have good results.”

Last year, Wawrinka ended this clay-court swing with a bang, shocking the tennis world by denying Djokovic’s bid for a calendar Grand Slam in the Roland Garros final. But, for the 31 year old, the Serb is still the gold standard on the ATP World Tour.

“It’s simply impressive, what he’s accomplished. He’s at a level well above everyone else, but that’s nothing new. He’s been dominating for a couple of years.

“If you look at his results, he’s well ahead of the field. Like Roger [Federer] or Rafa [Nadal] had been at other points. He’s winning everything right now.”

Or not quite everything, if Wawrinka has his way once again.

Wawrinka has a first-round bye and will open against Philipp Kohlschreiber or Borna Coric.

For Roger Federer, who had been sidelined since the Australian Open, a series of unfortunate events has its silver lining.

“I am rested mentally and physically. I believe you can add everything to the back end of your career, in terms of being fresher mentally and being able to train harder. Whatever rest it is, it ends up in a canister you can draw from,” said the Swiss, who underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery for a meniscus tear after his semi-final showing in Melbourne. “Tommy Haas, for instance, has been injured for more than three years in his career, and he is still on tour because mentally he is fresh and he still loves it.”

The 34-year-old Federer had been slated to return at the Miami Open, but was forced to pull out due to illness.

“I’m happy to say that I’ve recovered well from the virus in Miami,” Federer said on Sunday during his pre-tournament press conference at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. “At first, I was concerned that it might be something that would last a while, but I was feeling better three days later. I arrived in Monte Carlo nine or 10 days ago and I’ve been training on centre court for the past eight or nine days. Things are going well. I’m happy with how I move; how I’m hitting the ball. I’ve played a lot of practice sets.”

The additional preparation has been a boon for the four-time finalist (2006-08, 2014), who is looking to win the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters for the first time.

“[Monte Carlo] is an opportunity for top guys to play more freely, since there is less pressure and it’s a change of surface for everyone,” Federer, who lost to Rafael Nadal in his first three finals and to Stan Wawrinka two years ago. “I’ve played very well in Monaco in the past, but for now my objective is to make my return to play, gain a good feel and go from there.

“My knee hasn’t bothered me, but the big test will be seeing how it reacts in match conditions. There are no easy draws in a Masters 1000, so I am not underestimating anyone. At the same time, I hope no one is underestimating me just because I’ve been hurt.”

Federer has a first-round bye and will face either Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or Thomaz Bellucci in his opening match.

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan have returned to the champions’ podium.

The all-time great doubles team won their first title of the year on Saturday night at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, beating Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. The Americans broke their opponents in the second set and won a back-and-forth point at 8-all in the match tie-break to serve for the match. A Bob Bryan forehand winner down the line gave them the title, which led to their customary chest bump.

“It was a battle from the first point to the last but we feel like we played our best tennis down the stretch,” Bob Bryan said. “It’s nice to pull out some close wins after losing a few tight matches to start the season. We’re looking forward to building momentum through the clay court season.”

The team has now won Houston six times, making the tournament the third event the Bryans have won at least six times (Australian Open and Los Angeles). The win also ups their overall title tally to 110. Saturday’s win ended a title drought for the duo as well. The team had finished 12 tournaments without a title since winning the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 at Montreal in August 2015. They had gone 13 tournaments between titles before winning their fifth at Acapulco in 2002.

“It feels great to get over the hump and win number 110 after a bit of title drought,” Mike Bryan said. “There’s no better place to do it than in Houston, where we’ve enjoyed so much success and had unbelievable fan support. Thanks to the River Oaks Country Club and its members for another fantastic tournament.”

The Bryans will receive 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split $27,840. Estrella Burgos and Gonzalez were playing in the first ATP World Tour event together. They will receive 150 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split $14,630.

Juan Monaco will play for his first ATP World Tour title in almost three years on Sunday.

The Argentine dismissed Spain’s Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-2 during their semi-finals match on Saturday at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston. Monaco will face an American in the championship, either John Isner or Jack Sock. Monaco last won a title in May 2013 (Dusseldorf), and he’ll be going for his second Houston championship (d. Isner 2012).

“I’m really happy to be here again in the final,” Monaco said on court after the match. “I was really focused, consistent from the baseline.”

It will be the 32 year old’s 21^st career title match and likely one of his more meaningful. He missed six months last fall and earlier this year because of a right wrist injury. Monaco slipped in the Emirates ATP Rankings from No. 39 a year ago to No. 146 this week.

But against Lopez, the 6’1” baseliner overcame some nervy play to advance to another Houston final. Monaco had three chances to break Lopez and gain a 5-1 lead but the Spaniard held and then broke Monaco to get back on serve. The Argentine eventually took the first set, though.

In the second, Monaco broke Lopez three times and used his consistent serving – he hit 71 per cent of his first serves for the match – to win in straight sets. “I think I played a great match,” Monaco said.

The former Top 10 player is playing in just his fifth tour-level tournament of 2016, but he’s exactly where he wants to be on the final day in Houston.