Tennis News

After opting to rest during the Miami Open following a strong week at Indian Wells, world No. 2 Roger Federer will look to begin his clay court season with a win over Jeremy Chardy. Federer leads the head-to-head series 2-1 but also lost their only clay court encounter last year at the Rome Masters event, one of the two tournaments that Federer has not won.

Follow the match live here: Federer v Chardy Live Stream

The Swiss No. 1 finished runner-up at this season’s Indian Wells Masters event and then decided to skip Miami to rest and spend time with his family. He will now move on to the Monte Carlo Open, where he is a four-time finalist but has never won the title. It is just one of two events on the ATP World Tour that he has not won, the other being Rome.

“I’m feeling good about my game and my fitness,” he added. “It’s been good to work on that for the last few weeks. I came here early on Thursday to practise on Centre Court, which is something I haven’t always had the chance to do. Clearly I feel I’ve done all the right things to prepare for the clay court season now.”

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He will now come up against France’s Jeremy Chardy, who defeated Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman in straight sets 7-5, 6-2 to advance to the second round of the tournament. He struck 6 aces, won 65% of his first service points and saved three break points to close out the match in one hour and 14 minutes.

The two competitors have met on three separate occasions on the professional tour, with Federer leading the head-to-head series 2-1. The Swiss star won their hard court meetings, while Chardy toppled the Grand Slam great at last year’s Rome Masters event. Federer himself admits he is better prepared for the clay court season this time around and will look to prove that is the case on Wednesday.

Prediction: Roger Federer in Straight Sets

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Following an absolutely fantastic month on the ATP World Tour, where he won the Indian Wells – Miami Open double for the second consecutive year, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic has arrived in Monte Carlo, where he will begin his campaign in his first ever match on clay. In this opening match, he will encounter Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas for the second time on the professional tour. Their first meeting took place last month, and led to Djokovic taking a 1-0 lead in the head-to-head series.

Follow the match live here: Djokovic vs Ramos-Vinolas Live Stream

Riding a 13-match win streak ahead of the Monte Carlo Open, Djokovic arrives to play his ninth tournament at this particular venue. This is one of his better events, as he has reached the semi-final or better on the past six occasions and was the champion back in 2013. Given the momentum he has gathered over the past few months, this could be another impressive week for the world No. 1.

“The experience of playing at a high level for the last three or four years helped me to handle these particular situations better than I have done in 2010 and 2011,” he said. “I feel like I have matured physically.

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“I’m enjoying my time on the court, playing some of my best tennis. Next to 2011, this is definitely the best start I’ve ever had… It’s [been] four months, and [there’s] still a lot of time to come.”

Albert Ramos-Vinolas reached the second round of the Monte Carlo Open with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Robin Haase. He won 81% of his first service points and saved the only break point he faced during the entire encounter. The match lasted exactly one hour.

This marks the second time that Djokovic and Ramos-Vinolas will cross paths on the professional tour. The Serbian star will undoubtedly have a noticeable advantage against his Spanish counterpart, and will look to implement it immediately en route to another straightforward victory. Given that Djokovic already holds a win over Albert this season, it is unlikely that he will be stopped from a second one.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic in Straight Sets

Marin Cilic will look to continue his gradual comeback from injury when he begins his clay court campaign in Monte Carlo against Germany’s Florian Mayer. This is the fourth time that the two competitors will meet on the ATP World Tour, with Mayer leading the series 2-1. However, the last time they crossed paths was back in 2011.

Follow the match live here: Cilic vs Mayer Live Stream

Following a long layoff due to a right shoulder injury, reigning US Open champion Marin Cilic began his 2015 season this week in Indian Wells, where suffered a premature exit in his opening match in the desert. While the world No. 10 lost to Juan Monaco in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, he was pleased with his performance, as he didn’t have high expectations for his first match back on tour.

It was a difficult road to his return at Indian Wells, and Cilic was not afraid to admit it. He even had some lingering pain in his shoulder, which is why he was unable to serve well.

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“I wasn’t expecting that I’m going to be playing great tennis, which is always difficult in the first couple of matches,” he said. “Some players do feel great from the beginning, but I’m the kind of player that needs a few matches to get into it.”

He will begin his campaign against Florian Mayer, who reached the second round of the tournament with a straight sets victory over Mikhail Youzhny, whom he beat 7-6(8), 6-4. He struck six aces, won 72% of his first service points and saved a break point to close out the match in one hour and 32 minutes.

This marks the fourth time that Cilic and Florian will cross paths on the professional tour, with Mayer leading the series 2-1. However, this is their first meeting in nearly four years and will certainly be a different encounter than any of their previous meetings. It is difficult to determine if Cilic will be able to snap his four-match losing streak this week in Monte Carlo.

Prediction: Florian Mayer in Three Sets

The first American in the latest generation of male tennis athletes has officially won his maiden title on the ATP World Tour. Ina battle of fellow countrymen, Jack Sock defeated his older counterpart Sam Querrey in a generational battle that signaled the transition to a new era of players from the United States.

The youngster, who is already a doubles Grand Slam champion, defeated Querrey in straight sets to lift the Houston title at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship final. He won the match 7-6(9), 7-6(2) to earn the victory in 1 hour and 45 minutes.

“It feels incredible,” said Sock. “Clay is my favourite surface. It feels surreal. It feels incredible, and to have friends and family here to share it with me feels even better.”

After being sidelined for the past few moths with a torn pelvic muscle that required surgery, Sock returned to the tour in emphatic fashion, as he won the doubles title in Indian Wells, reached the final in Miami and now won his maiden ATP World Tour title.

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“I feel I competed well and took care of my serve very well,” said Sock. “On this surface against these players and the tough field that it was, to only get broken a handful of times is not easy.”

Sock takes home $88,800 in prize money and 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points, while Querrey took home $46,750 and 150 ranking points.

“Jack’s tough,” said Querrey. “He has a big forehand and on heavy clay like that, he’s a tough guy to beat… that’s my first final in a long time, so I’m feeling good.”

After the completion of the Miami Masters, all eyes point to France for the Monte-Carlo Masters. The event had long been dominated by Rafael Nadal, winning eight times in a row from 2005-2012. This run was finally ended in 2013 when Novak Djokovic won in straight sets in the final while David Ferrer’s quarter final victory over Nadal ensured he would go a second year without picking up the trophy.

Check out last year’s final result article: Wawrinka beats Federer and Wins 2014 Monte Carlo Title

Contenders

With any top level clay tournament, it feels like there are only two contenders for the title especially if they are on opposite sides of the draw. As eight time winner, Nadal has to go into the tournament as favourite but Novak Djokovic is closing the gap each year. Nadal will be eager to end his two year drought at the tournament but has shown he is vulnerable once more after ending his 2014 early through injury. Losing to Fabio Fognini in Rio in February will see more of those outside the elite fancying their chances – especially after Nicolas Almagro ended a long losing streak in Barcelona last year. When it comes to big tournaments on clay, he is still the man to beat but his stranglehold is weakening a bit.

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2013’s winner Novak Djokovic remains second favourite and the most likely player to defeat Nadal on clay, whatever the venue. He has won the last two best of three matches (Rome ’14, Monte Carlo ’13) but came up short each of the last three years at Roland Garros. Nadal’s exit in the quarter finals should have led to Djokovic taking a second straight title but Roger Federer has remained a tough foe for the Serb, going 4-4 since the beginning of last year. A comeback win against Nadal in the Rome final ensured he didn’t go winless on clay last year.

Last year’s winner Stanislas Wawrinka was still riding the high of his first slam by this point and took advantage of a draw that saw him face neither Nadal or Djokovic to win his first Masters 1000 event with a three set victory over Roger Federer in the final. However, his clay form following that had been very sketchy with losses to Dominic Thiem, Tommy Haas and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Similarly poor losses in recent weeks suggest a turnaround is needed sharpish if the Swiss No.2 is to be a contender in just under a months time.

Roger Federer has not won a clay Masters 1000 event since the controversial Madrid 2012 tournament on blue clay. Last year’s finalist has shown his capabilities against Djokovic on many an occasion but it feels like his chances of winning the title are dependant on a route that does not involve Rafael Nadal. Kei Nishikori was a winner in Barcelona before making the final in Madrid in his next tournament. Before his body failed him, the Japanese star was in control against Nadal before injury finally saw him retire midway through the third set. It would also be unfair to leave out David Ferrer, who defeated Nadal at the event last year, although his record against other top players leaves a lot to be desired.

See all predictions here: Monte Carlo Masters Tips