Wednesday’s play at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship was cut short due to rain, with only one set completed on the red clay of Houston.

In the day’s only action at the ATP 250, Max Purcell won a 6-4 set against Daniel Altmaier in the last match of the opening round. Top seed Frances Tiafoe was set to open his campaign with a second-round match against Steve Johnson, while fourth seed John Isner was scheduled to face Gijs Brouwer.

With Wednesday’s rainout, all eight second-round matches are now on the Thursday slate, with the winner of the Purcell vs. Altmaier match set for double duty with a second match against eighth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

In addition to Isner and Tiafoe, second seed Tommy Paul will also begin his tournament on Thursday against qualifier Yannick Hanfmann. Six singles matches are on tap for the Houston stadium court.

View Thursday’s Schedule

Is this the week Casper Ruud finds his form?

The Norwegian made a good start at the Millennium Estoril Open on Wednesday when he rallied past Portugal’s Joao Sousa 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP 250 clay-court event.

“I am just happy to get the win today,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “It was not looking good after the first set, but I managed to step up and play better and better and I think that is a good sign going into the next match.”

Ruud, who is making his debut in Estoril, entered the match holding a 5-6 record on the season after losing in the third round in Indian Wells and Miami. The top seed ensured he would not suffer another early exit against Sousa, though, raising his intensity and level as the two-hour, 15-minute match went on to improve to 4-0 in their ATP Head2Head series.

“Joao is such a nice guy,” Ruud said. “I have mixed feelings, winning against him here in Estoril. I know he is a home-crowd favourite. He is a great example of a great fighter. He really has had an influence on this tournament and the fans here.”

Ruud has now earned 100 tour-level wins on clay, capturing eight of his nine ATP Tour titles on the surface. He also reached the final at Roland Garros last year.

The World No. 5 is into the quarter-finals at a tour-level event for the first time since September when he advanced to the last eight in Seoul. He will next play Argentine Sebastian Baez after the defending champion defeated Pedro Cachin 6-4, 7-6(2).

“It will be a tough one against Baez. We have never played against each other. He is a young player. I saw him more and more the past years. He is developing well. He is a great player and won his first title here last year. He is a player to watch out for and I am going to have to be on top of my game.”

Baez enjoyed a dream run to his maiden tour-level title in Estoril last season and has looked at home once again in his two opening matches at this year’s event. After beating Radu Albot in the first round, the 22-year-old broke Cachin’s serve five times to advance after two hours and 11 minutes.

In other action, Marco Cecchinato defeated Fabio Fognini 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in an-all Italian clash. The 30-year-old Cecchinato will play third seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or #NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche in his first quarter-final of the season.

In a clash spanning two days due to rain, Benjamin Bonzi booked his spot in the second round at the Grand Prix Hassan II Wednesday when he defeated lucky loser Alexey Vatutin 6-3, 6-3 in Marrakech.

Competing for the first time since his semi-final run in Marseille in February, the seventh-seeded Frenchman broke Vatutin five times to earn his 11th tour-level win of the season after 83 minutes.

“It was pretty tough to stop yesterday after the first set. After one night everything is different. It has been a long wait today with the courts. The key today was to focus and be ready to start the second set well,” Bonzi said. “I managed to do it and it is a good win for me after a few weeks off.”

The World 50 Bonzi, who reached the final in Pune in January, will next play Pavel Kotov. Bonzi’s match against Vatutin was the only singles clash played on Wednesday at the ATP 250 clay-court event due to rain.

Lorenzo Musetti is the top seed in Marrakech, with Daniel Evans seeded second. The Italian Musetti plays Frenchman Hugo Gaston in his opening match, while Briton Evans takes on Australian Alexei Popyrin.

“It is funny to think about when you say it.”

Until Monday, Ben Shelton was in the remarkable position of being a Top 40 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings who had never competed on red clay. Having made his bow on the surface at this week’s Millennium Estoril Open, the early signs for the #NextGenATP American have been good.

After gaining his first taste of competitive red-clay action on Monday in a doubles defeat alongside his former University of Florida Gators teammate Duarte Vale, Shelton returned on Tuesday to down Constant Lestienne in straight sets at the ATP 250 and make a winning start to his singles career on the red dirt.

“For sure, I was a bit nervous today,” Shelton told ATPTour.com after his 7-5, 7-5 win against the Frenchman. “Maybe more so than my last few matches or tournaments just because I wasn’t sure how things were going to go. It was a good nervous, it helped me focus and lock in. I always enjoy playing matches when I have a little bit of nerves.”

The American played on green clay occasionally growing up and competed at two ITF World Tennis Tour tournaments on that surface in 2021. That is the extent of his clay-court history, however, and he notes that certain differences between the red and green varieties still make his Estoril odyssey a fundamentally new experience.

“It wasn’t the surface I played on the most [growing up] but there were definitely some tournaments when I got to play on green clay,” said Shelton. “Once I got to college, there weren’t many opportunities to play on green clay because all the matches we play in college are on hard courts.

“I think the red clay is a little bit softer [than green]. I think the bounces are a little bit better. I honestly like playing on the red clay a bit more. Obviously, my game has evolved since the last time I played on green clay so that could also be one of the factors. I’ve really enjoyed so far this week playing on the red clay. I think it plays a little bit truer and obviously it’s really well kept here in Portugal.”

Perhaps it was unlikely that being confronted by a completely new surface would faze the 20-year-old. He reached the quarter-finals on debut at January’s Australian Open, during his first trip outside the United States, and has charged to a career-high No. 39 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings despite only having made his tour-level debut last July.

Shelton therefore wants to largely apply the same approach to his upcoming clay-court schedule that has brought him such success on hard courts.

“I’d say that my preparation has been pretty similar in terms of how many days I got here before the tournament, what kind of practices I’m doing,” said Shelton. “[I have done] a little bit more strategic planning with my coach about how I want to play on this surface because obviously it’s not something we’ve had to talk about before.

“I haven’t thought about [not having played on clay] much. I’m really focused on my development right now, trying to get better in each match, each day, and try to improve my game. I’m not thinking about the numbers or the rankings or what I’ve done on what surface so far.

“I think my serve is really effective on this surface with the way it bounces. And with my willingness to come to the net, I think it will be a good combo for me to get a lot of easier points.”

Just how quickly Shelton has acclimatised to the Estoril clay will be tested on Thursday in a blockbuster second-round clash against former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem. The Austrian has won 10 of his 17 tour-level titles on the surface and is a two-time finalist at the clay-court Grand Slam, Roland Garros.

Yet regardless of how Thursday’s showdown with Thiem goes, Shelton believes he has nothing to fear from an unfamiliar surface. Like much of the 20-year-old’s 2023, it is just another new experience to be enjoyed.

“It’s not challenging,” said Shelton. “I’m really enjoying seeing Portugal for the first time. The conditions are really easy here. It’s easy to get around, the beaches are beautiful… I’ve really enjoyed it so far.”

The first quarter of the 2023 ATP Tour season marked breakthrough runs, career-best wins and titles on the ATP Challenger Tour for many #NextGenATP stars.

American Ben Shelton advanced to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, while Frenchman Arthur Fils reached tour-level semi-finals in Montpellier and Marseille, respectively. Swiss lefty Dominic Stricker and Frenchmen Luca Van Assche and Arthur Cazaux have tasted success, lifting trophies at ATP Challenger Tour events.

ATPTour.com looks at some of the most notable #NextGenATP accomplishments of the year so far.

View Latest Next Gen Race Standings

Shelton’s Stunning Start
American Shelton has enjoyed a standout start to the season, rising from No. 96 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings to a current career-high No. 39 following a series of impressive results.

The 20-year-old ended 2022 by winning three consecutive ATP Challenger Tour titles and carried his red-hot form into 2023 when he arrived in Australia and New Zealand. Shelton defeated Sebastian Baez to earn his first tour-level win of the season in Auckland before he made waves at the Australian Open. The talented lefty advanced to the quarter-finals on debut in Melbourne, defeating Zhang Zhizhen, Nicolas Jarry, Alexei Popyrin and J.J. Wolf.

“I definitely exceeded my expectations this week, what I thought I could do on the court — not just tennis-wise but physically being able to get through as many three-out-of-five-set matches as I did,” Shelton reflected after his quarter-final loss against Tommy Paul. “I mean, I’ve only played one before in my career. I was pretty pleased with myself in that aspect as well.”

Shelton then returned to home soil and continued to impress, defeating Fabio Fognini in the first round in Indian Wells to earn the third ATP Masters 1000 match win of his career.

Shelton Shining, Trying To Make Mark On First Trip Out Of The United States
‘Amazing’ 17-Year-Old Shang Taking Australian Open By Storm
Five Things To Know About #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils

Frenchmen On The Charge
Fils arrived at the ATP 250 event in Montpellier in February having never won a tour-level match. Fast forward two weeks and the 18-year-old had earned five victories on Tour. Fils showcased his powerful game to the French crowd with victories against Richard Gasquet and Roberto Bautista Agut in Montpellier, before he downed former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka en route to the semi-finals in Marseille.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Fils after defeating the Swiss star. “I was watching him [Wawrinka] play during all my young career. I was hitting in Bercy with him as a sparring partner, and now I beat him. It’s a long way, a long way for my coach and my family, but it’s not over yet and I want to enjoy more. My progress is] fast, but I can be faster, so I will try to be.”

Van Assche and Cazaux also made their mark, rising to fifth and sixth respectively in the Pepperstone ATP Next Gen Race. The 18-year-old Van Assche won the second ATP Challenger Tour title of his career in France, while the 20-year-old Cazaux triumphed at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Thailand.

Stricker & Michelsen In Early Contention
The 20-year-old lefty Stricker reached the semi-finals at the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2022 and has made a strong start to 2023 as he aims to compete at the 21-and-under event again. The Swiss has had success on the ATP Challenger Tour this year, winning a trophy in Italy before advancing to the semi-finals at an event in Switzerland.

American Alex Michelsen began the year outside the Top 600 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, but reached a career-high No. 306 in March after winning one ITF World Tour event and reaching the semi-finals at an ATP Challenger Tour tournament in North America.

Others To Watch
Chinese star Shang Juncheng, who is the son of two professional athletes, made a roaring start to the season when he came through qualifying to reach the second round at the Australian Open.

The 18-year-old is coached by Dante Bottini, who first laid eyes on the World No. 181 when he was 15 years old.

“Very nice. Amazing player,” Bottini told ATPTour.com when explaining his first memories of Shang. “I mean obviously he was very young, but I already could tell that he had great potential.”

The 21-year-old Swiss Leandro Riedi rounds out the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Next Gen Race. He reached the second round in Marseille in February, falling to Hubert Hurakcaz in three sets.

One year ago J.J. Wolf arrived in Houston as the No. 157 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. This edition he is the fifth seed and showed why on Tuesday.

Wolf cruised past Australian Jordan Thompson 6-3, 6-2 in 74 minutes to reach the second round of the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. 

“First clay-court tournament for me of the year, so I was really excited,” Wolf said. “Just trying to kind of be patient and play some good clay-court tennis. Holding serve was big for me today.”

The American did not face a break point and lost just four first-serve points (22/26) to move past Thompson. Wolf, who enjoys the atmosphere in Houston, will next play countryman Denis Kudla. 

“There’s no place like it. It’s so much fun playing here, it’s such a nice club,” Wolf said. “The people are awesome, the fans are awesome, everybody within the tournament is awesome as well.”

Cristian Garin, the 2019 Houston champion, made a good start to his tournament with a 6-3, 6-0 win against Bolivian Hugo Dellien. The Chilean is now 9-1 at River Oaks Country Club. 

Roberto Carballes Baena earned his highest-ranked win of the season Tuesday in Marrakech.

The Spaniard rallied from a set down to defeat World No. 38 Maxime Cressy 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-1 in the opening round of the Grand Prix Hassan II.

Carballes Baena, who was a quarter-finalist last year in Marrakech, held his ground while converting five of his 13 break points. Serve-and-volleyer Cressy, seeded fifth, stayed bold on his second delivery, but ended with 20 double faults to his nine aces.

The 30-year-old Carballes Baena will next meet Bulgarian qualifier Dimitar Kuzmanov, who beat Hugo Grenier 6-3, 6-4. Kuzmanov, 29, defeated the Frenchman in qualifying Monday before Grenier got in the main draw as a lucky loser.

In other action at the ATP 250, Italian Andrea Vavassori survived Santiago champion Nicolas Jarry 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Frenchman Alexandre Muller defeated countryman and sixth seed Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-4.

Elias Ymer eliminated Moroccan wild card Adam Moundir 6-4, 7-6(6) to set a second-round meeting against fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor. Pavel Kotov also advanced Tuesday when he escaped Pedro Martinez in a third-set tie-break, moving on with a 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(5) victory.

In the evening, seventh seed Benjamin Bonzi held a 6-3 lead on lucky loser Alexey Vatutin when play was suspended due to rain.

Nominations for the Tom Perrotta Prize For Tennis Journalism are now open, with the award presented to a writer under the age of 35 for excellence in tennis journalism.

The annual award commemorates the life and journalism of Tom Perrotta, who provided a large contribution to tennis journalism prior to his untimely death at the age of 45.

The prize includes a $2,000 cash award and will be presented in New York City during the US Open. Applications should include a brief CV and two recent examples of the applicant’s published work. Examples can be in any language but articles should be translated into English before submitting.

Submissions should be forwarded to [email protected] before midnight (EST) 14 May 2023.

ATP, WTA, ITF and The International Tennis Writers Association co-sponsor the award.

The world’s brightest stars make their way to the 2023 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, which is the first of three clay-court ATP Masters 1000 tournaments. 

Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic is back in action with hopes of claiming a third Monte-Carlo crown. Miami titlist Daniil Medvedev is ready to pursue clay-court glory and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas is aiming for his third consecutive title at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

When is the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters?

The 2023 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters will be held from 9-16 April at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The tournament director is David Massey.

Who is playing at the 2023 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters?

The Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters will feature stars such as Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has won the past two editions.

When is the draw for the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters?

The Monte-Carlo draw will be made on Friday 7 April at 5 p.m. local time.

What is the schedule for the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters?

* Qualifying: Saturday, 8 April – Sunday, 9 April at 11:00 a.m. local time
* Main Draw: Sunday, 9 April – Friday, 14 April at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, 15 April at 11:30 a.m.
* Doubles Final: Sunday, 16 April at Noon.
* Singles Final: Sunday, 16 April at 2:30 p.m.
* View On Official Website

What is the prize money for the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters?

The prize money for the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters is €5,779,335 and the Total Financial Commitment is €6,228,295.

SINGLES
Winner: €892,590 / 1,000 points
Finalist: €487,420 / 600 points
Semi-finalist: €266,530/ 360 points
Quarter-finalist: €145,380 / 180 points
Round of 16: €77,760 / 90 points
Round of 32: €41,700 / 45 points
Round of 64: €23,100 / 10 points

DOUBLES ($ per team)
Winner: €282,870 / 1,000 points
Finalist: €152,140/ 600 points
Semi-finalist: €81,140 / 360 points
Quarter-finalist: €41,140 / 180 points
Round of 16: €21,980 / 90 points
Round of 32: €11,830 / 0 points

How can I watch the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters?

Watch Live On Tennis TV
TV Schedule

How can I follow the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters?

Hashtag: #rolexmcmasters
Facebook: @rolexmcmasters
Twitter: @ROLEXMCMASTERS
Instagram: @rolexmontecarlomasters
 

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Who won the last edition of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in 2022?

Stefanos Tsitsipas won the 2022 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters singles title with a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the championship match. (Read & Watch). Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury lifted the doubles trophy in Monte-Carlo with a 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 triumph against Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the final (Read More).

Who holds the Monte-Carlo record for most titles, oldest champion, youngest champion and more?

Most Titles, Singles: Rafael Nadal (11)
Most Titles, Doubles: Mike Bryan, (6)
Oldest Champion: Nicola Pietrangeli, 34, in 1968
Youngest Champion: Mats Wilander, 18, in 1983
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Bjorn Borg in 1979-80, Ivan Lendl in 1988, Rafael Nadal in 2009, 2011, 2018, Novak Djokovic in 2013, 2015
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 49 Andrew Pattison in 1974
Last Home Champion: None
Most Match Wins: Rafael Nadal (73)

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown