The battle for top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin between Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic could significantly change based on one potential match at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters should it come to fruition.

Medvedev and Djokovic will meet in the semi-finals of the clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event if they both advance that far. If that blockbuster clash plays out, the result would drastically impact the Live Race.

Medvedev (3,030 points) enters the clay-court season with a 600-point lead over second-placed Djokovic (2,430). If the 27-year-old defeats Djokovic in the Monte-Carlo semi-finals and goes on to claim his first clay-court crown, he would take a 1,240-point advantage over his rival in the Live Race.

However, it goes both ways. If the superstars meet in the semi-finals but Djokovic emerges victorious and goes on to clinch his record-extending 39th Masters 1000 trophy, he would depart the Principality in first place in the Live Race by 40 points.

Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin (as of 7 April)

Another thing to keep in mind is that Medvedev has made clear he does not favour clay, a surface on which he has won 43.9 per cent of his tour-level matches compared to 80.3 per cent for Djokovic. Although Medvedev has lifted four trophies this season and no other player has earned more than two (Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz), the Live Race battle will be one to watch early in the clay-court season.

Djokovic is second, having earned 2,000 points with his Australian Open title at the start of the season. Monte-Carlo will be his first appearance since losing to Medvedev in the Dubai semi-finals.

The top of the Live Race is jam-packed and a lot can change over the course of a week, especially at a Masters 1000 event like the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Third-placed Alcaraz and ninth-placed Karen Khachanov are separated by just 695 points.

In other storylines to watch in the coming weeks, three of the Top 10 players in the Live Race are from the United States. Two of the Americans, seventh-placed Tommy Paul and 10th-placed Frances Tiafoe, are trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.

Paul and Tiafoe are not the only players seeking their debut at the season finale. Of the Top 30 players in the Live Race, 20 have never competed in the Nitto ATP Finals.

Austrians Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler are a perfect 3-0 in ATP Tour finals, with titles in Kitzbühel in 2021, Vienna in 2022 and Acapulco earlier this season. After their Friday semi-final victory at the Grand Prix Hassan II, they will bid to extend their streak in the Marrakech final.

The third seeds defeated fifth seeds Maxime Cressy and Albano Olivetti 6-2, 7-6(1) to advance to the title match at the ATP 250, surviving 11 aces from their opponents and earning the victory without facing a break point. Erler/Miedler will find out their final opponents on Saturday, when Marcelo Demoliner and Andrea Vavassori meet N.Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan in the second semi-final.

Demoliner/Vavassori booked their semi-final spot on Friday with a 7-6(10), 6-3 win against Sander Arends and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.

Home Favourites Book Last Estoril SF Spot

Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral are the only all-Portuguese pairing in the Millennium Estoril Open doubles draw, and the home favourites continue to make the most of their opportunity. In the lone doubles match played on Friday at the ATP 250, the defending champions beat Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald 6-3, 7-6(4) to advance to the last four.

Their semi-final opponents will be fourth-seeded Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, with that match set for the Estoril stadium court on Saturday. Third seeds Gonzalo Escobar and Fabien Reboul will take on Serbians Nikola Cacic and Miomir Kecmanovic in Saturday’s second semi-final.

For the third straight day at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, rain has cancelled the bulk of the day’s play. While the last Houston first-round match was completed during a brief respite — with Max Purcell winning two games to close out a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win against Daniel Altmaier — the rest of Friday’s play was cancelled at the ATP 250.

“We have had several inches of rain in the past two days that have saturated our courts and these unseasonably cool temperatures are slowing down the drying process,” said tournament director Bronwyn Greer. “We want to ensure that our courts are in the best possible condition to complete our tournament this weekend, and with that in mind we have decided to forgo play today with the exception of that first-round match that [was] deep into the third set.”

Purcell, who broke into the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time last month after winning three straight ATP Challenger Tour titles, entered Houston at a career high of World No. 86. He will face eighth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the second round.

“My goal this year was to try to be Top 100 by Wimbledon or earlier than that. I’ve done that, and now I’m trying to push and pick up more points from tour-level events,” said the Australian, who won the Houston doubles title with countryman Matthew Ebden last season and is competing with Jordan Thompson in this year’s team event. “I want to be playing ATP Tour events the rest of the year, permitted that I keep winning. It’s a good start, and if I can keep pushing to quarters and onwards, it would be great.”

Photo credit: Jared Wickerham/US Clay

The entirety of the singles second round was scheduled to be completed on Friday in Houston, in addition to the quarter-finals. Both rounds are now set to be played on Saturday, with the semi-finals and final scheduled for Sunday. For doubles, the quarter-finals are now set to be played on Saturday, followed by the semis and the final on Sunday.

Two second-round matches were started on Thursday before being suspended: Gijs Brouwer led fourth seed John Isner 6-4, 5-6, while fifth seed J.J. Wolf and Denis Kudla were knotted at 4-4 in their opening set.

Top seed Frances Tiafoe will now open his Houston campaign against Steve Johnson on Saturday, while second seed Tommy Paul meets Yannick Hanfmann in his opening match.

Saturday’s schedule will be posted on ATPTour.com when it is available. For more information, including information on ticket refunds, please visit the official tournament website.

Casper Ruud advanced to his first semi-final of the season Friday at the Millennium Estoril Open.

The World No. 5 produced a strong performance to down defending champion Sebastian Baez 6-3, 6-0.

“It was great, particularly the second set, it was a great level by me,” Ruud said. “Very happy and pleased with that.

“Sebastian is a tough player. The score can sometimes lie a little bit. 6-3, 6-0 is not necessarily how it felt on court. But that’s tennis, small margins in this sport and when you have the margins on your side, some points, some lines here and there can go your [way].”

Ruud stuck to a deep return position and displayed pin-point accuracy from the baseline to put fifth seed Baez on defence. The Argentine will rue converting only one of his seven break points, four of which came in the second set. But the nine-time tour-level titlist Ruud held his ground to advance after one hour, 18 minutes.

“It’s my first semi-final of the year, it’s important for me to try to do well now and win some matches,” Ruud said. “This is a very good start to the clay season for me.”

Ruud will next meet Frenchman Quentin Halys, who continues to break new ground in 2023.

Halys advanced to his first ATP Tour semi-final when he defeated former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-4 to reach the last four.

“I’m playing really, really good at the moment. For me to be here in the semi-finals for the first tournament on clay is huge for me and I’ve played some really good players,” Halys said. “I’m so happy and I’m looking forward for tomorrow because I think I can do well again tomorrow.

“It’s going to be a tough one, but I’m really looking forward [to it].”

The 26-year-old saved the two break points he faced against Thiem and converted all three of his chances to triumph after one hour and 19 minutes.

It marked the end of a resurgent week for Thiem, who earned consecutive victories for the first time this season against Sebastian Ofner and Ben Shelton.

The Frenchman Halys is up to No. 64 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings from No. 80 at the start of the week. Last week in Miami he made the fourth round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time.

In other action, 2018 Roland Garros semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato and sixth seed Miomir Kecmanovic set a semi-final clash against one another.

Cecchinato improved to 10-3 in tour-level quarter-finals with a 7-5, 7-6(5) upset of third seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Kecmanovic ousted Bernabe Zapata Miralles 7-5, 6-2.

Kecmanovic won his only previous ATP Head2Head meeting with Cecchinato last year on clay in Santiago 7-5, 6-1.

Returning to the ATP Tour this week at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Novak Djokovic learned the path to his record-extending 39th ATP Masters 1000 crown on Friday.

The top-seeded Serbian could face in-form Italian Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals and is seeded to meet Miami champion Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo. Djokovic, who is aiming to consolidate his position at No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, will open against Brandon Nakashima or Mackenzie McDonald.

The World No. 1 could then play 16th seed Lorenzo Musetti in the third round. The 35-year-old defeated Musetti in a five-set thriller at Roland Garros in 2021. Djokovic is a two-time champion in the Principality, having triumphed in 2013 and 2015.

Jannik Sinner arrives in Monte-Carlo off the back of a run to his second ATP Masters 1000 final in Miami. He begins his first clay-court tournament of 2023 against Diego Schwartzman or David Goffin.

Medvedev holds a 29-3 record on the season, having lifted four trophies this year. Chasing his maiden title on clay, the third seed will play Italian wild card Lorenzo Sonego or a qualifier in his opening match and is seeded to meet German Alexander Zverev in the third round. Medvedev is first in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

Holger Rune, who claimed his maiden Masters 1000 crown in Paris last year, is a potential quarter-final opponent for Medvedev. The sixth seed starts against former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem, a wild card, or Frenchman Richard Gasquet. Cameron Norrie or Matteo Berrettini are potential third-round opponents for the Dane.

Chasing his third consecutive title in Monte-Carlo, Stefanos Tsitsipas anchors the bottom half of the draw.

The second seed, who holds a 12-2 record in the Principality, will meet Benjamin Bonzi or Bernabe Zapata Miralles in his opening match and is seeded to play eighth-seeded American Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals. Fritz begins against 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka or Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.

Fourth seed Casper Ruud has lifted eight of his nine tour-level trophies on clay. Looking to kick start his season in Monte-Carlo, the 2021 semi-finalist plays Botic van de Zandschulp or a qualifier in his first match and could meet former World No. 1 Andy Murray in the third round. Fifth seed Andrey Rublev, who reached the Monte-Carlo final in 2021, is a potential quarter-final opponent for the Norwegian.

Murray plays 14th seed Alex de Minaur in the first round, while Miami semi-finalist Karen Khachanov takes on 2022 Monte-Carlo finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. #NextGenATP American Ben Shelton faces Grigor Dimitrov.

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind regarding the clay-court season?

Perhaps it is the picturesque Monte-Carlo Country Club or Rafael Nadal’s hold of 14 Roland Garros trophies.

But to Dominic Thiem, this time of year brings feelings of his ‘first love’. For Lorenzo Musetti, it’s dirty socks.

The 21-year-old Italian was among those featured in the latest ATP Uncovered, where players gave their predictions for the 2023 clay-court swing.

Who will have the most successful swing on the red dirt?

Alexander Zverev joked: “I’m going to say Rafa, [he’s dominated] for like the last 458 years!”

Learn what else stars including Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Holger Rune predicted for the clay-court season in the full video above from this week’s ATP Uncovered.

Daniel Evans moved closer to capturing his first title of the season on Friday in Marrakech.

The Briton defeated Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori 6-3 7-5 to reach the semi-finals of the Grand Prix Hassan II. The second seed will next play Roberto Carballes Baena, who downed fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

“I played a bit better today than yesterday and that’s important,” Evans said in his on-court interview. “It’s pleasing as well to get another win. He’s been playing very well. He’d come through qualifying. He has a very, very good game for every surface, but very different for this surface.

“So it was a difficult match and I had to focus really hard and I’m happy I played very well and won.”

Evans arrived in Morocco searching for form, having lost six consecutive matches. But the 32-year-old is now two wins from claiming his second ATP Tour trophy.

On Friday evening, Frenchman Alexandre Muller earned his career-best win by upsetting World No. 21 and top seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.

Muller will meet Pavel Kotov in the last four. Should the 26-year-old Muller advance to his maiden tour-level final, he will crack the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time.

“It’s my first semi-final on the ATP Tour so I’m very happy today,” Muller said. “I’m playing very well so I will try to continue like this.”

Kotov, 24, escaped Australian Christopher O’Connell 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(3). Despite letting slip a 4/0 lead in the second-set tie-break, Kotov held his nerve to earn a two-hour, 53-minute victory and advance to his first tour-level semi-final.

Should Kotov reach the Marrakech final, he would return to the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

The dominant run of third seeds Gonzalo Escobar and Fabien Reboul continued on Thursday at the Millennium Estoril Open. The Ecuadorian/French pair defeated Joao Sousa and Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the semi-finals with the loss of just eight games in two matches.

In their opening match on Wednesday, Escobar/Reboul cruised past Marco Cecchinato and Quentin Halys 6-0, 6-3. After a day off, they will seek to continue their run on Saturday against Serbians Nikola Cacic and Miomir Kecmanovic. Cacic/Kecmanovic also advanced on Thursday with a 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-4 win against Diego Hidalgo and Cristian Rodriguez, while fourth seeds Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen progressed to the semis via walkover.

The fourth doubles quarter-final spot will be claimed on Friday, when home favourites Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral meet Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald.

Match Tie-Breaks In Marrakech
Two of the three Thursday doubles matches at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech were decided by Match Tie-breaks. Third-seeded Austrians Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler survived a scare against Czechs Roman Jebavy and Adam Pavlasek, coming from behind to advance 4-6, 6-1, 13-11.

Erler/Miedler will face fifth seeds Maxime Cressy and Albano Olivetti in the semis after the American-French team beat home-favourite Moroccans Elliot Benchetrit and Adam Moundir 6-4, 6-3.

Indians N.Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan edged Dutchmen Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6(3), 4-6, 10-8. Their semi-final opponents will be determined on Friday, when Marcelo Demoliner and Andrea Vavassori meet Sander Arends and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.

After Wednesday came and went without the completion of a full match at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, rain continued to wreak havoc on the Houston schedule on Thursday. At 6:10 p.m. local time, tournament organizsers cancelled the day’s play, once again without a match being played to completion.

Play was twice interrupted on Thursday, with Gijs Brouwer leading fourth seed John Isner 6-4, 5-6 before play was suspended for the second time at 3:41 p.m. on the stadium court. Fifth seed J.J. Wolf and Denis Kudla were knotted at 4-4 on Court 3 when play was stopped.

All eight second-round matches were on the Thursday schedule in Houston, as well as the conclusion of the opening-round match between Max Purcell and Daniel Altmaier, which Purcell led 6-4, 3-6, 4-3 when Wednesday’s play was suspended.