Scouting Report: Federer Returns In Monte-Carlo

Apr102016

An executive summary of what every fan should know about the coming week on the ATP World Tour

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)