Scouting report: Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz lead Monte Carlo | ATP Tour

Scouting report: Djokovic, Sinner and Alcaraz lead Monte Carlo

Everything you need to know about the tournament that starts this week

April 06, 2024

Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz meet this week in Monte Carlo.
By ATPTour.com/es Staff

The first ATP Masters 1000 of the clay court season will take place at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

Two-time tournament champion Novak Djokovic acts as the main favorite, while Andrey Rublev will be in charge of defending the crown. For his part, Jannik Sinner will try to prolong his great moment also on dirt and Carlos Alcaraz will participate for the second time in El Principado.

Here are 10 things to follow this week.

1) Can Djokovic regain his best level? Since winning his second Monte Carlo crown in 2015, Djokovic has not been able to get past the quarterfinals in his seven appearances at this ATP Masters 1000. In search of his first trophy of the course, the top seed will have to make his debut against Roman Safiullin or a rival from the previous one.

2) Sinner, a winning machine: Jannik Sinner has a 22-1 record this season and arrives in the Principality, after winning his second ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami. The 22-year-old Italian, who is 1,015 points behind Djokovic’s No. 1, reached the semifinals in Monte Carlo last year. Could he claim his fourth trophy of the year this week?

3) Alcaraz is always a candidate: Carlos Alcaraz was one of the protagonists of the tour in Indian Wells and Mimi, winning the crown in the first of the two tournaments and appearing in the quarterfinals of the second. The Spaniard, who will make his second appearance in Monte Carlo, has won seven titles on clay.

4) Medvedev seeks his first title of the year: Daniil Medvedev won his first trophy on clay last year in Rome and hopes that this result can be an argument to achieve great things on this clay tour. The 28-year-old’s best result this season was the final he reached at the Australian Open, while his best performance in Monte Carlo dates back to the 2019 edition, where he was a semi-finalist.

5) Rublev defends the crown: Andrey Rublev won his first ATP Masters 1000 title last year in Monte Carlo, after beating Holger Rune in the final. The No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings will begin his title defense against Alexei Popyrin or a qualifier, and could play in the quarterfinals against Djokovic.

6) Zverev, Rune and Ruud, in action: Two-time Monte Carlo semi-finalist Alexander Zverev enters the tournament after reaching the semi-finals in Miami. Denmark’s Rune reached the title match in the first clay court tournament last year. And he’s looking for his first trophy of the season this week. Ruud, who still has options in Estoril, has won nine of his ten titles on clay. His best result was the semifinals that he signed in 2021.

7) Pay attention to the #NextGenATP Fils star: Arthur Fils, who occupies second position in the PIF ATP Live Race to Jeddah, will make his debut in Monte Carlo. At 19 years old, the Frenchman won his only ATP Tour title on the clay of Lyon in 2023.

8) Former champions in contention: Stefanos Tsitsipas has great memories of Monte Carlo, being the champion in 2021 and 2022. The Greek is currently outside the Top 10 as world No. 12 and hopes that his return to The Principality can help him regain his best version. For his part, Wawrinka, at 39 years old, has an invitation to debut against the No. 11 favorite Alex de Minaur. The Swiss beat his compatriot Roger Federer in the 2014 final.

9) Interesting first round matches: Lorenzo Musetti, who defeated Djokovic in the third round last year, faces Taylor Fritz in the first round, while No. 10 seed Hubert Hurkacz will meet British left-hander Jack Draper. The duel between Karen Khachanov and Cameron Norrie will be another match to watch.

10) Bopanna/Ebden lead the doubles table: Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden lead the doubles draw and will bid for their third title of the season, after winning the Australian Open and the Miami Open presented by Itaú. Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek defend their crown, with Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, champions in 2022, also in the draw.