Nadal has a 71-5 record in Monte Carlo, where he only missed the quarter-finals once – on his debut in 2003 as a 16-year-old.
Rafael Nadal has won the Monte Carlo title eleven times. Reuters file photo
Monaco: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal start their clay court season in Monte Carlo this week to meet for the final, which will likely be a dress rehearsal for another title showdown at Roland Garros in June.
Djokovic and Nadal have not played since the belated Australian Open in February when the world’s number one Serb won his ninth title in Melbourne and his 18th career major.
Since then, he has also topped Roger Federer’s record in first place for weeks and will start a 316th week at the top of the world on Monday.
Djokovic is two-time champion in Monte Carlo, but has not passed the quarter-finals since his last title in 2015.
Nadal, who was in the Paris final in October won the 13th Roland Garros title and the 20th Grand Slam against Djokovic, chasing a 12th triumph in Monte Carlo.
There are concerns about the persistent back problem that Nadal has before a grueling clay court season, which will peak at the French Open on May 30th.
Nadal has a 71-5 record in Monte Carlo, where he only missed the quarter-finals once – on his debut in 2003 as a 16-year-old.
Since the Australian Open, Nadal has been replaced by the Russian Daniil Medvedev as number two in the world.
The runner-up at the Australian Open was the first player outside of the ‘Big Four’ of Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray, who has reached number two in the world since Australian Lleyton Hewitt in July 2005.
His 10 career titles were all awarded on hard courts, while on four visits he has never won a match at Roland Garros.
« Maybe I’ll be able to survive the first round at Roland Garros in 2050, « joked the mercury Russian.
The Monte Carlo lineup lacks Roger Federer, who last played in the Principality in 2016 and has never won the tournament.
Federer, who will be 40 years old in August, keh rte only returned to Qatar in February after 13 months on the sidelines of the tour to recover from two knee operations.
The Swiss veteran plans to bow his clay court bow in Madrid in the first week of May in 2021.
Also missing of number four in the world, Dominic Thiem, who like Djokovic, Nadal and Federer recently skipped the Miami Masters because he was « not 100% ».
Nadal’s two-time runner-up at Roland Garros decided instead to to stay in Austria to practice on sand.
The Monte Carlo Masters 2020 was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, while this year’s event will take place behind closed doors.
After an opening round, he meets the in shape Teenager Jannik Sinner, when the Italian walks past the Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
Changed date:
April 11, 2021 9:58:29 AM
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Barty, the 2019 French Open champion, has been number 1 as of September this year, despite skipping the newly scheduled US and French Open in 2020 to stay in Australia.
The French tennis federation hoped the delay would allow more fans to attend if the COVID-19 restrictions were eased by then.
Monfils, who finished second with Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo in 2016, would face Pablo Andujar in the first round.
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Ref: https://www.firstpost.com
