After a hugely successful month of March on the U.S. coasts, Taylor Fritz showed that his big game is also a perfect fit for Texas.

On Thursday at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, the World No. 13 American made a winning clay-court debut for the season with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Alejandro Tabilo. Fresh off his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells and a fourth-round run in Miami, Fritz got up and running on the Houston clay by taking the first four games of the match, then closed out the contest with his fifth break of the contest.

“I felt like tonight was going to be a really tough match, given he’s done really well on clay,” Fritz said of his Houston opener. “It was my first match [on clay]. I’m pretty happy with how I played. I can’t complain, I got out of that pretty solid.”

Coming in hot 🔥 @Taylor_Fritz97 sprints past Tabilo 6-1 6-4 in just 62 minutes 😯 #USClay pic.twitter.com/KVXmwrJLU2

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 8, 2022

Chile’s Tabilo, who has played exclusively on clay since February, reached his first ATP Tour quarter-final as a qualifier in Cordoba and later advanced to the Santiago semi-finals. He entered Houston following a final run at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Santiago in March.

But Fritz dominated his World No. 100 early, and led by a set and a break before the Tabilo made his charge midway through set two. Down 0-3 in the second set, Tabilo began to settle in, cutting down on his errors to bring the set to 4-4. 

The American avoided any late drama by reasserting himself and taking the last two fames of the match.

He hit just a few drop shots over the course of the one-hour encounter, but said post-match that he’s working on adding that tactic for the clay swing: “It’s definitely something I need to bring into my game because I back people up so much on the groundstrokes,” he explained, before stating that his goals for the season include breaking into the Top 10 and qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals.

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Earlier in Houston, a pair of seeded players fought back from a set down to advance. Defending champion Cristian Garin — Fritz’s quarter-final opponent — shook off a slow start to defeat Australia’s Jordan Thompson, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Entering the event on a five-match losing streak, the fifth seed has now come from behind in back-to-back matches on the red clay.

Sixth seed Frances Tiafoe went the distance against Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas to earn a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(4) victory over the course of two hours, 40 minutes. The American served from the opening set at 5-4, but dropped three straight games as the six-time ATP Tour champion Cuevas took the initiative and began to push him back in the rallies.

Tiafoe again failed to serve out the set at 5-4 in the second, but was able to reclaim his advantage by breaking serve on his fifth break chance of a four-deuce game — the longest of the match. There were no break chances in the decider, but the American put his stamp on the do-or-die tie-break by winning four straight points from 2-2. He closed the match out on his third match point.

All the action from the Houston ATP 250 event can be seen on ESPN3 in the U.S.

Australian Open finalists Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell are one win away from their second tour-level final of the season after a dominant win Thursday in Houston.

The Aussies swept past Nicholas Monroe and Fernando Romboli, 6-2, 6-2, to reach the final four at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. It was an identical scoreline to their first-round victory over the American pairing of Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey.

Ebden and Purcell converted on four of their six break chances in the match while saving all five break points against them.

Twin brothers Ivan Sabanov and Matej Sabanov scored the upset of the day in Houston, knocking out third seeds Nick Kyrgios and Jack Sock, 6-4, 6-2. They’ll face William Blumberg and Max Schnur in the semi-finals, after they won an all-American matchup against Robert Galloway and Jackson Withrow.

In the Marrakech quarter-finals, top seeds Andrey Golubev and Fabrice Martin were 6-3, 7-6(4) winners over Elliot Benchetrit and Lamine Ouahab. After surviving a Match Tie-break in the opening round against Dutchmen Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp, the Kazakh/French duo dominated on serve Thursday, winning 82 per cent of first serve points and not allowing a break point.

They will face Andrea Vavassori and Jan Zielinski in the Grand Prix Hassan II semis, after the Meixcan/Polish duo defeated Guillermo Duran and Federico Delbonis, 3-6, 7-6(7), 10-3. The opposite semi-final will see Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez take on Aleksandr Nedovyesov and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.

Matteo Berrettini’s right-hand injury will sideline him for longer than first thought, the Italian World No. 6 announced on Thursday. After reaching the fourth round in Indian Wells, the Italian withdrew from Miami and underwent a minor operation on a right-hand injury in late March. 

“Following advice from the medical experts, my team and I have decided that it is crucial I do not put time pressure on my recovery process,” Berrettini said in a post on his Instagram account.

Berrettini has now confirmed that he will miss the bulk of the European clay swing, pulling out of the ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome. That timeline will leave him out of action through mid-May.

“Withdrawing from these events, particularly Rome, was an extremely tough decision, however it is the right one to ensure many more years of competing at the highest level for the biggest trophies,” he added.

The 25-year-old reached the Madrid final in 2021, losing to Alexander Zverev in three sets, and reached the third round in his hometown tournament in Rome. 

Berrettini, who has won three of his five ATP Tour titles on clay, has played just one event on the surface to date in 2022 — when he lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in the Rio de Janeiro quarter-finals, a reversal of their five-set Australian Open third-round thriller, won by the Italian.

Berrettini concluded his Instagram message on a positive note: “My recovery process is on track and I look forward to seeing you on court soon,” he wrote.

 

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A post shared by Matteo Berrettini (@matberrettini)

The start of the European clay-court swing will see Novak Djokovic lead the field at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the first of three clay-court ATP Masters 1000 tournaments.

After Taylor Fritz and Carlos Alcaraz triumphed at the first two Masters 1000 tournaments of the season in Indian Wells and Miami respectively, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas will be aiming to retain his title on the red dirt in Monte-Carlo.

Here’s what you need to know: 

When is the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters?

The 2022 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters will be held from 10-17 April at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The tournament director is Zeljko Franulovic.

Who is playing at the 2022 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters?

The Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters will feature Top 10 stars Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is the reigning champion. #NextGenATP pair Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz also feature.

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

The Monte-Carlo draw will be made on Friday 8 April at 5:00 p.m. local time.

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

* Qualifying: Saturday, 9 April – Sunday, 10 April at 11:00 a.m. local time
* Main Draw: Sunday, 10 April – Friday, 15 April at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, 16 April at 11:30 a.m.
* Doubles Final: Sunday, 17 April at 11:30 a.m.
* Singles Final: Sunday, 17 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 €5,415,410 and the Total Financial Commitment is €5,802,475.

SINGLES
Winner: €836,335 / 1,000 points
Finalist: €456,720 / 600 points
Semi-finalist: €249,740/ 360 points
Quarter-finalist: €136,225 / 180 points
Round of 16: €72,865 / 90 points
Round of 32: €39,070 / 45 points
Round of 56: €21,650 / 25 points

DOUBLES ($ per team)
Winner: €256,610 / 1,000 points
Finalist: €139,390/ 600 points
Semi-finalist: €76,560 / 360 points
Quarter-finalist: €42,240 / 180 points
Round of 16: €23,230 / 90 points
Round of 32: €12,670 / 0 points

How can I watch the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters?

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How can I follow the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters?

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Who won the last edition of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in 2021?

Stefanos Tsitsipas won the 2021 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters singles title with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Andrey Rublev in the championship match (Read & Watch). Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic lifted the doubles trophy in Monte-Carlo with a 6-3, 4-6, 10-7 triumph against Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski 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

Key Storylines

Djokovic Returns: The World No. 1 will compete in his second tour-level event of the season when he takes to court at the Masters 1000 event. Djokovic, who earned wins against Lorenzo Musetti and Karen Khachanov in Dubai in February, has enjoyed success in Monte-Carlo previously, lifting the trophy in 2013 and 2015. However, the 34-year-old was knocked out in the third round last season, losing to Briton Daniel Evans.

All Eyes On Alcaraz: #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz arrives in Monte-Carlo high in confidence, having lifted the trophy at the Miami Open presented by Itau last week. The 18-year-old is up to a career-high of No. 11 in the ATP Rankings following that title run, which made him the youngest men’s champion in the 37-year history of the event. Alcaraz will be making his debut in Monte-Carlo, having been outside Top 100 when the event was held last year.

Stan Is Back: Stan Wawrinka will return to action in Monte-Carlo having not competed at a tour-level event since last March due to injury. After receiving a wild card into the event, the former World No. 3 will once again light up the action with his eye-catching backhand and devastating forehand at a tournament he won in 2014.

Reigning Champion Tsitsipas: The Greek broke new ground when he soared to his maiden Masters 1000 crown in Monte-Carlo in 2021. The World No. 5, who beat Andrey Rublev in the final, is yet to win a title this season though, with his best result a run to the championship match in Rotterdam. Tsitsipas will be aiming to change that record and create more fond memories at the event.

Rublev & Felix Target More Success: Top 10 pair Andrey Rublev and Felix Auger-Aliassime have both enjoyed strong starts to the season, winning three tour-level titles between them. Rublev has captured 10 tour-level crowns in his career, but is yet to find the winning formula at Masters 1000 level, losing finals in Monte-Carlo and Cincinnati last year. Auger-Aliassime lifted his maiden tour-level title in Rotterdam earlier this year and will be eager to replicate that level in Monte-Carlo, where he has never been beyond the second round in three previous appearances.

Did You Know?
The Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters is the first of three Masters 1000 tournaments played on clay. Spaniard Rafael Nadal has won the title 11 times, including an Open-Era record eight successive times between 2005 and 2012.

David Goffin earned his 300th tour-level win Thursday, edging Spaniard Pablo Andujar 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech.

The Belgian’s first victory on Tour came back in January 2011, when he defeated Somdev Devvarman in the first round in Chennai. Since then, the 31-year-old has captured five tour-level titles and risen to a career-high No. 7 in the ATP Rankings.

In a hard-fought battle against three-time Marrakech champion Andujar, Goffin rallied as he found his range as the match went on, saving all three break points he faced in the third set to advance after two hours and 49 minutes.

“It was a typical clay-court match, with some breaks when serving for sets,” Goffin said in his post-match interview. “That is what I need at the beginning of the clay-court season. I am happy with the way I was able to stay calm after losing the first set. I continued to stay positive and stay calm and do my best and in the end I managed to turn it around.”

The World No. 74 now leads Andujar 3-1 in their ATP Head2Head series and will play Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in his second quarter-final of the season. Goffin also advanced to the last eight at the Sydney Tennis Classic in January, where he retired during his match against former World No. 1 Andy Murray.

“I am here to play tough matches so it will be another fight tomorrow and I will try to do my best,” Goffin added. “Hopefully I will be able to play another good match.”

Carballes Baena eliminated Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-2, 7-6(4) to reach his first tour-level quarter-final of the year. Meanwhile, Argentine Federico Coria overcame Bosnian qualifier Mirza Basic 6-4, 6-2 to set up a meeting with either Richard Gasquet or qualifier Pavel Kotov.

Nick Kyrgios is showing no rust on clay.

Before arriving in Houston, the Australian had not competed on the surface since 2019. However, the wild card has played well on the red dirt, and on Wednesday he defeated American Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship.

“He’s a very good player. He’s young and he’s already shown what he can do and who he can beat,” Kyrgios said in his on-court interview. “I had to be locked in today and I knew that I had to serve well. It’s probably one of the better matches I’ve played on clay in my career, so I’m pretty happy with the way I came out here today, just put my head down and went to work.”

Paul is a proven clay-court competitor, having won the 2015 Roland Garros boys’ singles title. But Kyrgios was in control throughout the 70-minute match, in which he saved all six break points he faced. The 26-year-old hit 10 aces and won 88 per cent of his first-serve points to earn a quarter-final clash against lucky loser Michael Mmoh.

“I’ve been serving really well, so I just wanted to keep to good habits,” Kyrgios said.

The American, who moved into the draw when Casper Ruud withdrew due to tooth pain, defeated countryman Sam Querrey 6-2, 6-4 in 75 minutes. Mmoh will try to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final.

Top Seeds Ebden/Purcell Advance In Doubles
Australian Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell, who made this year’s Australian Open final, cruised past home favourites Steve Johnson and Querrey 6-2, 6-2 to earn a spot in the quarter-finals. The second seeds, however, did not have the same success.

Americans Robert Galloway and Jackson Withrow upset Mexico’s Santiago Gonzalez and former doubles World No. 1 Lukasz Kubot 6-4, 6-4. Serbian twins Ivan Sabanov and Matej Sabanov also advanced with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 win against Treat Huey and Denis Kudla.

For Five #NextGenATP stars, the first quarter of the 2022 ATP Tour season marked career-best wins, breakthrough runs and titles at both Tour and Challenger level.

Eighteen-year-old Carlos Alcaraz lifted his maiden ATP Masters 1000 and ATP 500 trophies, while Jannik Sinner soared to quarter-finals at the Australian Open and the Miami Open presented by Itau. Czech Jiri Lehecka and Italian Lorenzo Musetti left their mark at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam and Briton Jack Draper tasted success on the ATP Challenger Tour.

View Latest ATP Race To Milan Standings

No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, 1950 points
The Spaniard has started the 2022 season in the same way he finished 2021, by winning titles and earning standout Top 10 wins. Alcaraz capped off a breakthrough 2021 campaign by lifting the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals trophy in Milan and wasted little time in making his mark at the Australian Open in his first tournament of the year.

After cruising past Alejandro Tabilo and Dusan Lajovic, the 18-year-old pushed World No. 6 Matteo Berrettini to a fifth-set tie-break in one of the matches of the season. If his run in Melbourne didn’t remind everyone what he was capable of, then his performance in Rio de Janeiro certainly did.

Alcaraz eliminated seeded pair Berrettini and Diego Schwartzman as he became the youngest ATP 500 champion since the category was invented in 2009 at an event he had gained his maiden tour-level win at just two years earlier.

Following his victory on the clay in Brazil, Alcaraz arrived at the first ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells full of confidence. Alcaraz dispatched Top 20 stars Gael Monfils, Roberto Bautista Agut and Cameron Norrie in the California desert as he became the second-youngest semi-finalist in tournament history behind only Andre Agassi, 17, in 1988. Things only got better from there.

The Spaniard became the youngest Miami Open presented by Itau champion in history, defeating three Top 10 players — Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hubert Hurkacz and Casper Ruud — en route to the biggest title of his career. 

“It feels amazing. I’m so happy to get the title here in Miami with everyone who was supporting me,” Alcaraz said. “The hard work paid off and it’s amazing to get my first Masters 1000.”

Read 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals Spotlight Features
Jiri Lehecka
Jack Draper
Holger Rune
Shang Juncheng

No. 2 Jannik Sinner, 800 points
Jannik Sinner flew out of the blocks at the beginning of the year as he quickly found his range in Australia. The 20-year-old earned three wins at the ATP Cup, before he reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open for the first time.

Despite falling to Stefanos Tsitsipas in Melbourne, Sinner identified the positives from his Aussie Open run and revealed it provided him with further motivation moving forward.

“My goal is to play many matches like this, important matches against the best guys in the world, and then we see and then I grow,” Sinner said after his defeat. “I think it was good. I played matches, and I had [a good] experience. Let’s see next year what I do here.”

The Italian, who triumphed at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in 2019, went on to beat former World No. 1 Andy Murray in Dubai as he reached the last eight, before advancing to the fourth round in Indian Wells.

Sinner then earned wins against Emil Ruusuvuori, Pablo Carreno Busta and Nick Kyrgios en route to the quarter-finals in Miami as he rounded off a strong first quarter of the season at the second Masters 1000 of the year.

No. 3 Jack Draper, 361 points
Brit Jack Draper grabbed the spotlight at Wimbledon last season when he took a set off Novak Djokovic on Centre Court in their first-round clash. Fast forward eight months and Draper has enjoyed a standout start to the season, climbing from No. 265 in the ATP Rankings to a career-high No. 124 on 4 April.

The lefty has earned four ATP Challenger Tour titles this year, becoming the first player to capture four Challenger trophies in the first quarter of a season.

Draper’s early-season form has fuelled him with confidence and he revealed he owed some of his success to countrymen Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie and Daniel Evans.

“I definitely believe that in terms of my level of tennis, that I can beat pretty much anyone,” Draper said. “I’m lucky to practise at the National Tennis Centre with Murray, Norrie and Evans when they’re there. I know that when I go to Challengers, there are going to be some great players I’m facing, so I’m lucky to have good practices like that at the NTC to prepare me. They are all very supportive of us younger players. It helps that there’s a good buzz in British tennis at the moment.”

The 20-year-old was rewarded for his impressive ATP Challenger Tour results by receiving a wild card into the Miami Open presented by Itau, where he earned his third tour-level win against former World No. 6 Gilles Simon.

No. 4 Jiri Lehecka, 267 points
Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka finds himself fourth in the ATP Race To Milan at the start of April, having performed impressively on both the ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour.

The 20-year-old, who will be aiming to make his debut in Milan in November, enjoyed a dream run to the semi-finals in Rotterdam as he soared into the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings.

After coming through qualifying at the ATP 500, Lehecka upset then-World No. 12 Denis Shapovalov before eliminating Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp and #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti. It took a gritty performance from Greek Tsitsipas to stop Lehecka’s run in three sets.

“Of course I’m excited,” Lehecka said after his victory over Shapovalov. “It was a good match from my side. I knew that it would be a tough match of course, he’s No. 12 in the world. It is not easy against these type of players.”

The Czech, who has reached two ATP Challenger Tour quarter-finals this year, has sporting pedigree in his family. His father was a swimmer and his mother was a track and field athlete. Lehecka believes his parents’ background has been beneficial in his development.

“I think it was pretty good because they know how the sports life looks like. They know how it is,” Lehecka said. “They know the environment around the athlete. They know how it is. The good thing is they know how the body works and they know how to help me in some situations.”

No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti, 191 points
After making his debut in Milan in front of his home supporters in November, #NextGenATP Italian Musetti will be aiming to return to the Allianz Cloud this year.

The 20-year-old has enjoyed steady progress in 2022, reaching tour-level quarter-finals in Pune and Rotterdam as he has continued to cause opponents problems with his shot making, variety and agility. Musetti, who also advanced to the second round at the BNP Paribas Open, earned the biggest win of his season at the ATP 500 in Rotterdam, where he downed then-World No. 11 Hubert Hurkacz.

“I played in Australia with a little bit of stress, and I had two tough matches with two great opponents,” Musetti said after the Hurkacz win. “From losses you take a lot of experience, especially as younger players, so for me it’s really helpful and I decided to play indoors on a hard court because it is maybe my worst surface. I didn’t think about being here [in the quarter-finals] but I’m really enjoying it.”

With the clay-court season ahead, Musetti will be confident he can strengthen his Milan bid on a surface he favours most. The Italian reached the semi-finals in Lyon last year, before he advanced to the fourth round at Roland Garros, where he took two sets off Djokovic.

Others To Watch
Dominic Stricker, Chun-hsin Tseng and Brandon Nakashima sit sixth, seventh and eighth in the ATP Race To Milan, respectively, after early 2022 success. Switzerland’s Stricker and Tseng of Chinese Taipei have both won ATP Challenger Tour trophies, while 2021 Milan competitor Nakashima advanced to the quarter-finals at the Sydney Tennis Classic in January.

Dane Holger Rune competed in Milan last year and is currently 15th in the Race (83 points), while 17-year-old Shang Juncheng (27th, 44 points) of China became the first man from his country to qualify for Indian Wells.

2022 #NextGenATP ATP Challenger Tour Titlists

Former World No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga announced on Wednesday that he will retire after this year’s edition of Roland Garros. It will be the 15th time he competes at the clay-court Grand Slam as a professional.

“It is with great emotion that I announce today my decision to stop my professional career at the next French Open. So many incredible moments, so much joy shared with a public that gave me a lot,” Tsonga wrote on social media. “Hoping for one last thrill with you!”

C’est avec beaucoup d’émotions que j’annonce aujourd’hui ma décision d’arrêter ma carrière professionnelle lors du prochain tournoi de @rolandgarros 🧡
It is with great emotion that I announce today my decision to stop my career at the next French Openhttps://t.co/yCmP3wch3o

— Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (@tsonga7) April 6, 2022

Tsonga, who played doubles on the Parisian clay in 2002 and 2003 before making his singles debut in 2005, is a two-time singles semi-finalist at the tournament. The Frenchman is a two-time ATP Masters 1000 champion (2008 Paris, 2014 Canada), three-time Nitto ATP Finals competitor (2008, 2011-12), and he also reached a major final at the 2008 Australian Open.

The 36-year-old has the second-highest winning percentage in tour-level matches on record among Frenchmen (66.5%), only trailing Yannick Noah (69.6%). Tsonga is an 18-time tour-level titlist who has won 467 matches.

“I hope that I will stay in shape before and be able to be who I have always been at this tournament,” Tsonga said in a YouTube video. “I have always set myself high goals to try to get what I can. For me, this will be the opportunity to do it one last time.”