Tennis News

Monte-Carlo Scouting Report: Nadal Chases 12th Title, Djokovic Is Back

One week ago in Miami, Hubert Hurkacz broke new ground for Poland by becoming the first singles player from his country to win an ATP Masters 1000 title. Now, the world’s best will tackle the year’s first clay-court Masters 1000 event at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

Rafael Nadal will aim to extend his own records, Novak Djokovic will try to claim his third title in the Principality and much more. ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch in Monte-Carlo.

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1) Nadal’s Chase For No. 12: Nadal will attempt to secure a record-extending 12th Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title in the Principality. The lefty owns a 71-5 record at the tournament, where he has fallen short of the quarter-finals just once, and that occasion came on his debut in 2003 as a 16-year-old (he defeated World No. 7 Albert Costa in the second round). The third seed, who fell in the 2019 semi-finals against Fabio Fognini, will begin his run this year against Adrian Mannarino or a qualifier. Sixth seed Andrey Rublev is a potential quarter-final foe.

Nadal can reclaim No. 2 in the FedEx ATP Rankings from Daniil Medvedev if he reaches the final and the Russian does not make the semi-finals. The Spanish superstar can also achieve the feat if he lifts the trophy and Medvedev does not advance to the championship match.

2) Djokovic Is Back: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has not competed since claiming a record ninth Australian Open title in February. The Serbian, who also won both his matches at the ATP Cup, will now chase his third Monte-Carlo crown. Notably, the 33-year-old has not advanced past the quarter-finals at the Masters 1000 event since triumphing in 2015. The top seed will need to be sharp immediately, since he will play red-hot #NextGenATP star Jannik Sinner or 2017 Monte-Carlo finalist Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the first round. Nadal and Medvedev are in the opposite half of the draw.

3) Medvedev’s Memories: Many fans might know that Medvedev is a three-time Masters 1000 titlist. But what they might not realise is that the Russian star made his first semi-final at this level in Monte-Carlo in 2019. That year, Medvedev defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas and Djokovic en route to the last four. The second seed will try to go even further this edition, which will mark his fourth main draw appearance in the tournament. Medvedev will play Filip Krajinovic or recent Doha champion Nikoloz Basilashvili in his opener, with defending champion Fabio Fognini lurking as a potential third-round opponent.

4) Rublev On A Roll: Nobody has more wins on the ATP Tour this season than Andrey Rublev (20-4) and he will try to maintain his momentum in the Principality. The Russian is only 1-3 at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Those losses came against Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and Fognini, who went on to win the title that year. Rublev will be confident after reaching his first Masters 1000 semi-final in Miami, and he will begin his campaign against Monagesque wild card Lucas Catarina or a qualifier.

5) Karatsev’s Debut: Russian sensation Aslan Karatsev has been the breakthrough star of the tennis world in 2021 thanks to his shock run to the Australian Open semi-finals and his victory in Dubai. The 27-year-old will break new ground in Monte-Carlo, where he will not just compete in his first Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, but his first tour-level main draw on clay. Karatsev has only played ATP Tour qualifying on clay once, and that was in Kitzbuhel in 2014. The Russian will have his hands full in his opener against Italian teen Lorenzo Musetti.

6) Sinner Shining: Jannik Sinner made a dream run to the Miami Open presented by Itau final, where he fell one victory short of becoming the youngest champion in tournament history. The 19-year-old will try to continue his impressive play in Monte-Carlo, where he will play former finalist Ramos-Vinolas in the first round. If the #NextGenATP star wins, he will face World No. 1 Djokovic for the first time. They are familiar with each other, having trained together. Sinner’s coach, Riccardo Piatti, has also worked with Djokovic.

7) Fabio Former Champ: Fognini will happily return to the Monte-Carlo Country Club, the site of his greatest victory two years ago. He stunned two of the top three players in the FedEx ATP Rankings — Nadal and Zverev — en route to becoming the first Italian Masters 1000 champion in series history. Fognini will attempt to successfully defend his trophy, beginning with a clash against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, who has recently brought David Nalbandian onto his team. Fognini could play second seed Medvedev in the third round.

8) #NextGenATP Wild Cards: Two of the tournament’s four wild cards were given to #NextGenATP stars: Musetti and Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune. Musetti recently became the youngest player in the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, and he appears to only be getting better. The 19-year-old Italian reached his first ATP 500 semi-final in Acapulco and made the third round in Miami. He will try to slow down scorching-hot Russian Karatsev in the first round. Junior World No. 1 Rune of Denmark, who is 17, made the Santiago quarter-finals as a qualifier earlier this year, and he will make his Masters 1000 debut against fellow Scandinavian Casper Ruud of Norway. Rune recently spent a week training with Djokovic in Monaco.

9) Will Mektic/Pavic Stay Hot? Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic are the second seeds at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, but they will be the favourites at the first clay-court Masters 1000 event of the season. The Croatians have already won four titles in 2021, including an impressive victory in Miami. Mektic triumphed in the Principality in 2019 alongside another Croatian, Franko Skugor. The top seeds in Monaco will be Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, with Australian Open champions Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek among the teams to watch. Seventh seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut were victorious here in 2016.

10) Singles Stars Playing Doubles: Will a singles star be able to make a deep run in the doubles draw? World No. 2 Medvedev will compete alongside Brazilian Marcelo Demoliner and Stefanos Tsitsipas will play with brother Petros Tsitsipas. Singles teams that could be threats include reigning Rolex Paris Masters champions Felix Auger-Aliassime and Hubert Hurkacz as well as Karen Khachanov and Rublev, who have made two Masters 1000 doubles finals together. Grigor Dimitrov will team with David Goffin and Fognini will play with Diego Schwartzman.

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Mektic/Pavic Chase More Masters 1000 Success In Monte-Carlo

Miami Open presented by Itau champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic will chase their second ATP Masters 1000 trophy of the season at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

Mektic, who won the 2019 title alongside Franko Skugor, and Pavic will face singles stars Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin or Marcelo Demoliner and Danill Medvedev in their opening match. The second seeds are joined in the bottom quarter of the draw by 2016 champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.

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Mektic and Pavic own a 25-3 record this season and have already lifted four ATP Tour trophies in 2021. Prior to clinching the Miami title, the Croatian pair also triumphed at the Antalya Open, the Murray River Open and the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos will aim to capture their third Masters 1000 trophy as a team. The fourth seeds, who headline the third quarter of the draw, won three clay-court events last season, including the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

The Spanish-Argentine duo will face French pair Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin or two-time Masters 1000 finalists Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev in the second round. The third quarter also features a first-round clash between eighth seeds Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau and wild cards Petros Tsitsipas and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

In the top half of the draw, top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah lead the way. The 17-time tour-level team titlists will attempt to double their 2021 trophy count in Monte-Carlo, following their title run at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships last month.

Cabal and Farah will face reigning Rolex Paris Masters champions Felix Auger-Aliassime and Hubert Hurkacz or Monegasque wild cards Romain Arneodo and Hugo Nys in their tournament opener. The Colombians are also joined in the top quarter by sixth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Lukasz Kubot and singles stars Fabio Fognini and Diego Schwartzman.

The second quarter is led by the two teams which contested the Australian Open final in February: Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek and Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury. Dodig and Polasek, who lifted the trophy at Melbourne Park in February, have competed in two finals this season (1-1). Ram and Salisbury have reached the semi-finals or better at their three most recent events.

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Sonego Fights Past Fritz, One Step Away From Cagliari Title

Lorenzo Sonego is one step away from becoming the first Italian for 15 years to capture an ATP Tour clay-court title on home soil after advancing to the Sardegna Open final on Saturday.

The 25-year-old will be bidding for his second trophy after he battled hard to overcome second-seeded American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 in two hours and 39 minutes in Cagliari. Sonego led by a set and 3-0 before Fritz started his comeback.

Sonego, who is one of 10 Italians in the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, will next face Serbia’s Laslo Djere in Sunday’s title match. Sonego is level at 1-1 with Djere in their ATP Head2Head series.

Former World No. 25 Filippo Volandri was the last Italian to lift a tour-level trophy on home soil at Palermo (d. Lapentti) in October 2006. Sonego captured his first crown at the 2019 Antalya Open (d. Kecmanovic).

Third seed Sonego made the breakthrough at 2-2 by converting his sixth break point on the back of three powerful forehands. While Fritz was able to level at 4-4 with a deep forehand, Sonego broke immediately to love. From 4-4 in the first set, Sonego won five straight games as the World No. 34 forced Fritz to work hard for every point.

Fritz ended the streak at 0-3 in the second set and Sonego blinked, letting the 23-year-old American back into their fourth ATP Head2Head meeting. Fritz went on to clinch his fourth straight game and eventually levelled the score by clinching the 64-minute set when Sonego struck a backhand into the net.

Sonego regrouped to break Fritz with a drop shot winner in the first game of the third set, and broke once again to take a 3-0 advantage after three consecutive forehands. Fritz continued to fight, but Sonego hammered home his advantage for a place in his first clay-court final.

Djere dominated fourth-seeded Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-2, 6-0 in the second semi-final, which lasted just 52 minutes.

Djere took early control and from 3-2 in the first set, the World No. 57 won nine straight games. The 25-year-old, who lost just nine of his service points, is through to his third ATP Tour final and is now 10-1 lifetime on Italian soil. In October 2020, Djere clinched his second tour-level title in Sardinia (d. Cecchinato).

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Brkic/Cacic Topple Another Top Team In Marbella

Unseeded duo Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic are one victory away from their second ATP Tour title of the season after closing out another upset at the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open on Friday.

After fighting past the second seeds Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald in a 4-6, 7-6(5), 11-9 nailbiter to reach the semi-finals, they found themselves up against another top team in Marbella. Brkic and Cacic took down third seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Matwe Middelkoop 6-4, 6-4 to reach the championship match.

The Bosnian-Serbian duo won its first ATP Tour title as a team earlier in the season at the Argentina Open. The victory also made Brkic the first player representing Bosnia and Herzegovina to win a tour-level doubles title.

Bolelli/Molteni Reach Cagliari Final
Second seeds Simone Bolelli and Andres Molteni are through to the final at the Sardegna Open after taking down Italian brothers Jacopo Berrettini and Matteo Berrettini on Friday.

Contesting their first tournament of the year together in Cagliari, Bolelli and Molteni needed a Match Tie-break to take down the Berrettini brothers 6-3, 4-6, 10-3. The Italian and Argentine pair dropped serve only once across an hour and 33 minutes on Campo 14.

The victory sent Bolleli and Molteni into their first ATP Tour final together since 2019 Moscow. Earlier in the season, Bolleli won the Chile Dove Men+Care Open in Santiago with Maximo Gonzalez, while Molteni has previously reached two semi-finals (Delray Beach and Cordoba) with different partners.

They will face Lorenzo Sonego and Andrea Vavassori in the championship match. The Italian duo advanced with a walkover after Daniel Evans and Federico Coria (abdominal strain) were forced to withdraw. Sonego and Vavassori began their Cagliari campaign with an upset over top seeds Marcelo Melo and Jean-Julien Rojer in the first round.

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Fearless Alcaraz Powers Into First ATP Tour SF In Marbella

#NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz booked a spot into his first ATP Tour semi-final at the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open after an electrifying 6-2, 6-4 victory over Casper Ruud on Friday.

In a battle between the two youngest players left standing in Marbella, it was the 17-year-old who came out swinging and fearlessly crushing winners off both wings against 22-year-old Ruud. Alcaraz broke the Norwegian’s serve five times en route to the last four.

The victory made Alcaraz the youngest ATP Tour semi-finalist in seven years, since 17-year-old Alexander Zverev’s run at Hamburg in 2014. Alcaraz is contesting his sixth ATP Tour main draw in Marbella.

Alcaraz made a fast start against Ruud on Estadio Manolo Santana, powering to a double break with his heavy groundstrokes. The Spaniard took the ball early and had Ruud under pressure as he created break opportunities in each of the Norwegian’s four service games in the opening set, converting on three occasions.

Ruud responded by raising his level in the second set, and the pair settled into a tense servers’ contest – through the first six games, Ruud and Alcaraz only lost two points combined on serve. But once again, the teenager struck first with a fearless spate of winners to grab the lead at 4-3, and kept his nose in front to seal a spot into the final four.

With his victory, Alcaraz set a dream semi-final line-up for Spanish tennis fans in Marbella. All four semi-finalists at the ATP 250 event hail from Spain, with Alcaraz set to face countryman Jaume Munar for a shot at the championship match.

Munar needed nearly three hours (2h, 55m) to edge past Belarusian Ilya Ivashka 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 earlier in the day on Estadio Manolo Santana. Munar saved six of the nine break points he faced, and fired seven aces en route to victory. 

Top seed Pablo Carreno Busta had a much more straightforward path to the last four after cruising to a 6-4, 6-0 win against seventh seed Soonwoo Kwon. He set up a semi-final meeting with familiar foe Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who needed two hours and 47 minutes to defeat Norbert Gombos 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-4.

Carreno-Busta will bring a 2-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head lead into their encounter, where he will try to make it three clay-court victories in a row over Ramos-Vinolas. 

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Djokovic To Face Early Monte-Carlo Test, Nadal In Opposite Halves

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have contested three championship matches at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and, following the draw ceremony on Friday, the pair could meet in another championship match this year.

Top seed Djokovic and third seed Nadal were placed in opposite halves of the ATP Masters 1000 draw, making it possible for the pair to meet in a fourth final at the Monte-Carlo Country Club (2009, ’12-‘13). Djokovic, a two-time Monte-Carlo champion (2013, ’15), may not be able to face Nadal until final Sunday, but he will face an immediate test in the Principality.

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In his first appearance since his ninth title run at the Australian Open, Djokovic will meet Miami Open presented by Itau runner-up Jannik Sinner or 2017 finalist Albert Ramos-Vinolas in his opening match. The Serbian is yet to meet Sinner at tour-level, but he owns a 6-0 ATP Head2Head record against Ramos-Vinolas.

Djokovic shares the top section of the draw with Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz. The Pole claimed his maiden Masters 1000 crown just five days ago with four consecutive Top 20 wins en route to the final (d. Sinner). Former semi-finalists Alexander Zverev (2018) and David Goffin (2017) also feature in the top quarter of the draw.

In the bottom half of the draw, 11-time champion Nadal will also make his first appearance since the Australian Open. The Spaniard will start his bid for a 12th Monte-Carlo crown against Adrian Mannarino or a qualifier in the second round.  

Nadal most recently triumphed at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in 2018, when he defeated Kei Nishikori in the championship match to lift his third straight title. The 34-year-old also won an Open Era record eight consecutive titles in Monte-Carlo from 2005 to 2012. Nadal, who owns a 71-5 record at the Masters 1000 event, shares the third quarter of the draw with sixth seed Andrey Rublev, Miami semi-finalist Roberto Bautista Agut and former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov.

Second seed Daniil Medvedev is also in Nadal’s half of the draw. The 10-time ATP Tour titlist will begin his quest for a maiden clay-court Masters 1000 trophy against Filip Krajinovic or Nikoloz Basilashvili. Two years ago, Medvedev stunned Djokovic en route to his first Masters 1000 semi-final (l. to Lajovic).

Medvedev could meet defending champion Fabio Fognini in the third round. Fognini became the first Italian to claim a Masters 1000 trophy in 2019, when he defeated Alexander Zverev and Nadal en route to the biggest title of his career in Monte-Carlo. Seventh seed Diego Schwartzman and Pablo Carreno Busta join Medvedev in the bottom quarter of the draw.

Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas headlines the second quarter. The Acapulco runner-up will meet #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti or Dubai champion Aslan Karatsev in the second round.

Tsitsipas shares the second quarter with eighth seed Matteo Berrettini, 2016 runner-up Gael Monfils and five-time ATP Tour titlist Cristian Garin. In one of the picks of the first-round matches, Garin will meet Felix Auger-Aliassime. The #NextGenATP Canadian will be joined in the Principality by new coaching team member Toni Nadal. 

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Fritz Reaches Final Four In Cagliari

Taylor Fritz added another victory to his 2021 tally at the Sardegna Open on Friday when he defeated Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-4 to reach his second semi-final of the season.

The second seed, who is competing as the American No. 1 for the first time this week, struck eight aces and won 86 per cent of his first-serve points (25/29) to advance in 85 minutes. Fritz holds an 11-5 record this season and will aim to reach his first final of the year in Cagliari, following his semi-final loss at last month’s Qatar ExxonMobil Open (l. to Basilashvili).

Fritz levelled his ATP Head2Head series against Bedene with his quarter-final win at the ATP 250. The American lost his only previous match against the 31-year-old at last year’s Western & Southern Open.

Fritz will face third seed Lorenzo Sonego for a place in the final. Sonego rallied from 3-6, 3-5 down to overcome Yannick Hanfmann 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 in two hours and 43 minutes. World No. 30 Fritz leads Sonego 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head rivalry, but he lost the pair’s only previous clay-court encounter at Roland Garros last year.

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Rafa Reigns Supreme, Tears For Pioline, Fognini: 10 Memorable Monte Carlo Moments

Editor’s note: A version of this story was first published on 15 April 2020

The Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, which begins on Sunday, is one of the crown jewels of the ATP Tour. First held in 1897, the event was a founding member of the ATP Masters 1000 series in 1990. One of the most spectacular venues in world tennis, overlooking the Mediterranean, the tournament was a combined event until 1980.

ATPTour.com looks back on 10 memorable moments from Monte-Carlo since 1990.

1995: Muster The Ironman
It was a second serve that missed; a double fault that let Thomas Muster escape and saw Boris Becker ultimately fall short for the fifth time in a clay-court final. Becker went for an ace on his first match point, because it was his natural game, but years later, when he ended his career, the German was left to rue one of the toughest losses of his career. Muster saved two match points from 4/6 down in the fourth-set tie-break and ultimately prevailed 4-6, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(6), 6-0 in three hours and 16 minutes. “I don’t know how I won the match,” said Muster, afterwards. “After what happened yesterday, I didn’t think I could be able to play today. I would like to thank the medical service that got me ready to play.” It was all the more remarkable as the Austrian had experienced fatigue, dehydration and a lack of sugar in his blood in his semi-final victory over Andrea Gaudenzi, the current ATP Chairman, the day before. Muster extended his clay-court winning streak to 22 matches with his second Monte Carlo crown.

2000: A French Champion, At Last!
Cedric Pioline ended a 37-year wait for a champion in Monaco by claiming the biggest title of his career. In testing conditions, with steady rain falling throughout the final, the 30-year-old battled past Slovakian Dominic Hrbaty 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(6) to the delight of a capacity crowd. “It was very tough because Dominik played really well,” Pioline said. “I am running like when I was 20. I am really enjoying what I am doing. That is why I am still playing. I am really proud to win because there is a great tradition here.” Pioline was the first French player to win the Monte Carlo crown since Pierre Darmon in 1963. The 22-year-old Hrbaty had beaten top seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov and 1997 finalist Alex Corretja en route to the final. Since Pioline’s title run, Gael Monfils is the only Frenchman to reach the final – in 2016.

2006: The 100th Edition, First Part Of Nadal vs. Federer Trilogy
It was only fitting that the 100th edition of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters culminated in a final between two great players, World No. 1 Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the defending champion. At the height of their rivalry, Nadal and Federer met 15 times over a three-year period (2006-2008). In the 2006 final, certainly the highest quality of their three Monte Carlo finals, Nadal needed to dig deep to extend his clay-court winning streak to 42 matches, beating Federer 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(5) over three hours and 49 minutes. Nadal raced to a 5-1 lead in the first set, but Federer regrouped in the second set after losing his serve to love in the seventh game. Federer broke back for 5-5 and won the tie-break. The Swiss also led 3/0 in the fourth set tie-break, but Nadal recovered to seal the 14th title of his career. “It was a very unbelievable day for me,” said Nadal. “It’s special to begin the clay season like this. Beating Roger in the final is even more special, it’s great.” The Spaniard would also beat Federer 6-4, 6-4 in the 2007 final and 7-5, 7-5 in the 2008 final, for his fourth successive Monte Carlo crown.

2007: Monte Carlo’s Status In The Spotlight
The status of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters had first come into question in 1997, but the then-Tournament Director Bernard Noat fought tenaciously to maintain the event as a Super 9 (now ATP Masters 1000). Ten years on, and with the tournament now under the direction of Zeljko Franulovic, the ATP Tour looked to reduce the number of Masters 1000 tournaments from nine to eight for a planned restructure of the 2009 calendar. The tournament, with His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco as the Patron of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, remains as a Masters 1000 event, but without the mandatory player commitment. As a beloved member of the series; a glamorous event to visit and be seen at, the Monte-Carlo Country Club is arguably the most spectacular of all world tennis venues.

2010: Nadal Loses 14 Games!
When Nadal steps onto Court Central at the Monte-Carlo Country Club for the first time, every Wednesday afternoon each year, close your eyes and listen to the crowd’s approval. In 2010, spectators could only gasp as five-time defending champion Nadal, without a title for 11 months, ripped through the field for the loss of just 14 games in five matches. “Last year I did not play well [here] but I won,” said Nadal, after his 6-0, 6-1 victory over fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the final. “This year my level is completely different. This year is really special for me because I had a little bit of a hard time for the last year. I was back to my best level on 1 January. I was ready to win before this tournament.” The 23-year-old beat Thiemo de Bakker 6-1, 6-0 in the first round, Michael Berrer by the same scoreline in the second round, two-time former champion Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4, 6-2 in the quarter-finals and David Ferrer 6-2, 6-3 in the semi-finals. Nadal became the first man to win six consecutive titles at the same tournament in the Open Era and joined Federer on 16 Masters 1000 crowns, one behind the then all-time leader Andre Agassi (17).

2013: A Tense Finale For Benneteau & Zimonjic
Such is the nature of modern doubles, where no Advantage is played in the first two sets and a first-to-10 Match Tie-break has been adopted on the ATP Tour since 2006, that the action is always entertaining and frenetic. In the 2013 final, Julien Benneteau and Nenad Zimonjic, in their first tournament together, saved seven match points against World No. 1s Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in a 4-6, 7-6(4), 14-12 victory. The French-Serbian pair saved match point at 4-5 in the second set, then six — at 5/9, 9/10 and 11/12 — in the Match Tie-break, for a famous victory over the Bryans, the two-time defending champions. Benneteau admitted, “We were a little bit lucky of course. When you save seven match points, you need a little bit of luck. But we played very well on those points. We still believed in ourselves until the end and it paid off.” Zimonjic added, “It was unbelievable. They started unbelievable [after the rain break], without missing any shots. Julien had to hit an ace on the second serve at 5-4, and also had an unbelievable return of the first serve to save another match point.” The Bryans, who will retire from the sport in 2020, have captured six Monte Carlo doubles trophies.

2013: Djokovic Ends Nadal’s Eight-Year Reign
Such has been the dominance of Nadal that Franulovic, half-jokingly, said to the Spaniard during a rain delay in 2012, “‘Hey Rafa, it seems to me that our destinies are linked. As long as you keep winning, I should be okay as well. I count on you to win this event, otherwise I get fired!’” The following year, Nadal’s eight-year reign came to an end at the hands of Novak Djokovic, 6-2, 7-6(1), in the final. World No. 1 Djokovic, who had struggled with an ankle injury in the early rounds, admitted, “The first six, seven or eight games were unbelievable. It’s the best I can play on clay. This trophy could not come in a better moment. It was difficult the last two months. I’ve been through some ups and downs emotionally, physically. But I’m where I want to be.” The victory broke Nadal’s 46-match winning streak at the Monte-Carlo Country Club that dated back to a third-round loss to Guillermo Coria on his debut in 2003.

2014: Wawrinka Takes His Chance
In the first all-Swiss final for 14 years on the ATP Tour, Monte Carlo resident Stan Wawrinka took his chance to capture his first Masters 1000 crown after pre-tournament favourite Nadal lost in the quarter-finals. Wawrinka recorded a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 victory over Federer, who finished runner-up in the Principality for a fourth time (also 2006-2008). “I can see that when mentally I’m there and I’m fighting, I can play tennis, I can beat all the players,” said World No. 3 Wawrinka, after capturing his third title of the season. “When I came here, for me it was more like a test. I knew I was playing good tennis, but I didn’t expect to win because the draw was so strong.” Federer, who had beaten Djokovic in the semi-finals and had won 13 of his past 14 matches against Wawrinka, admitted, “I think he deserved it just a little bit more.”

2017: Nadal’s La Décima
Such has been Nadal’s dominance of the Spring European clay-court swing since 2005, that it was inevitable, yet no less astonishing, that the Spaniard would become the first man in the Open Era (since April 1968) to win a singles tournament on 10 or more occasions. His historic 6-1, 6-3 victory over fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the 2017 Monte Carlo final, gave Nadal a 50th clay-court crown (50-8), breaking the record he shared with Guillermo Vilas since 24 April 2016. “It really is unbelievable,” said Nadal. “To win 10 times at such an important event like Monte Carlo is something difficult to describe my feelings. Every year has been a different feeling. At the same time, it is always a unique moment, every time, I have this trophy with me. [Of course] there is a little bit of luck, lot of things coming together to win this 10th title in an event like Monte Carlo. I feel lucky to keep playing tennis [and] being healthy all those years, in order to compete in one of the most beautiful events of the year, without a doubt.” The following week, he subsequently went on to capture his 10th Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell crown.

2019: Tears For Fabio
Go down the Honour Roll of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and you’ll see a plethora of Spanish names over the past 30 years, but no sign of any Italians. In fact, you need to go back to Nicola Pietrangeli, who won his third crown in 1968, to find the last Italian singles winner. But that changed in 2019, when the France-Italy border, only 30 minutes away by car from Monaco, witnessed increased traffic during the tournament week as Fabio Fognini worked his way to the title. Entering with one win in his past eight matches, which left him contemplating surgery for ankle and elbow injuries, Fognini recorded wins in Monaco over Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev, Borna Coric and three-time defending champion Nadal in the semi-finals. He got the cherry on the cake with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Dusan Lajovic to become the first Italian to capture a Masters 1000 title. “I’m really, really happy. Nothing to say,” said Fognini. “I have to keep calm, maybe take a shower, relax, and think about this, because it’s something incredible. I just feel happy because I won a big tournament that was always my goal in my career.”

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Davidovich Fokina Launches Spanish Pet Adoption Platform

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina turned his lifelong love for animals into a project that aims to make sure no pets in Spain are left abandoned or mistreated.

The Spaniard, ranked No. 56 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, took some time during the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open in Marbella to raise awareness for a growing side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pet abandonment has skyrocketed around the world as families struggle to cope with financial hardships, including in Davidovich Fokina’s native Spain.

In response, the player launched Adoptas.org, his own online pet adoption platform that aims to connect anyone looking to adopt or foster a pet with shelters and rescues across Spain.

“Announcing this makes me more nervous than playing tennis,” Davidovich Fokina said in a Zoom press conference. “I’m doing this out of a love for animals, and because I’m outraged by pet abandonment.

“After the lockdown due to the pandemic there have been many pets abandoned, a brutal increase of 25 per cent,” he added, referencing statistics in Spain.

The project aims to take advantage of the higher visibility that the player enjoys in order to support Spanish animal shelters nationwide by speeding up the adoption process as well as facilitating direct fundraising from donors. At the same time, Adoptas.org also hopes to educate the public on the benefits of animal adoption and rescue in place of pet shops and breeders, and on how to care for their pet’s well-being.

For 21-year-old Davidovich Fokina, it’s an issue close to the heart. The Malaga native has always had a deep love for stray animals – due in part to not having his own pets at home as a child.

“[I’ve loved animals] since I was little, even though I was not allowed to have pets as a child because my mom thought they gave me allergies. After school, I used to play for hours with a dog that would come up to my door, and I would pet her,” he said.

“Whenever I see a stray animal, I go to the store and get something to feed it. And if it’s in bad shape, I call a shelter. Pets are not stuffed toys and they should not be mistreated. I have two cats and they are like my children to me, it would never occur to me to abandon them or mistreat them.”

The platform already includes more than 50 registered animals from shelters across Spain including Marbella, Valencia, Toledo and more. For more information and to view adoptable pets, visit Adoptas.org.

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Berrettini Brothers Book Semi-Final Spot In Cagliari

Jacopo Berrettini and Matteo Berrettini added another victory to their ATP Tour team debut appearance on Thursday at the Sardegna Open.

The Italian brothers won 82 per cent of their first-serve points (40/49) to beat Treat Huey and Frederik Nielsen 7-6(5), 6-3 in 80 minutes. The wild cards, who survived a Match Tie-break in the first round, will face second seeds Simone Bolelli and Andres Molteni for a spot in the championship match. Bolelli and Molteni charged past Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul 6-0, 6-2.

Federico Coria and Daniel Evans also reached the semi-finals with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Marco Cecchinato and Stefano Travaglia. Shortly after their win, Coria was forced to withdraw from the tournament with an abdominal strain. As a result of Coria’s withdrawal, Lorenzo Sonego and Andrea Vavassori advanced to the championship match via walkover.

Arevalo/Middelkoop Advance In Marbella
Marcelo Arevalo and Matwe Middelkoop reached their maiden semi-final as a team at the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open. The third seeds entered their last-eight clash against Santiago Gonzalez and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela with a 0-4 team record in quarter-finals, but they saved all three break points they faced to beat the Mexican pair 6-3, 6-2.

Arevalo and Middelkoop will attempt to advance to their first team final against Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic on Friday. Brkic and Cacic saved a match point to beat second seeds Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald 4-6, 7-6(5), 11-9 on Wednesday.

Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar continued their strong start to the 2021 ATP Tour season. The unseeded duo beat Andre Goransson and Nicholas Monroe 6-4, 7-5 to reach its fourth semi-final of the year. The Delray Beach champions will face Hugo Nys and Tim Puetz for a place in the final. Nys and Puetz defeated Spanish wild cards David Marrero and Adrian Menendez-Maceiras 6-4, 6-0 in 61 minutes.

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