It’s not unfamiliar to see players take a few years to find their footing on the ATP World Tour, but Nicholas Monroe recently achieved a career milestone at age 34.

The American, who celebrates his 35^th birthday this week at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final this year in Miami. Paired with Jack Sock, they defeated several top teams en route to the championship match, including top seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers, and Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.

“Jack is probably the best doubles player in the world right now, in my opinion, so that was always going to be a lot of fun. We gel well with each other and have done our last two pre-seasons together in Kansas City. I went to high school there and my dad used to work at the same tennis academy as his old coach, Mike Wolf,” said Monroe. “We have that Midwest connection even though I’m 10 years older than him. He’s like my little brother out there, so we have a good time together.”

Monroe turned pro in 2004 after an outstanding college career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He spent several years competing mainly in Futures events and the ATP Challenger Tour before turning his attention to doubles in his 30s. He immediately began reaping the rewards, winning his first ATP World Tour doubles in Bastad in 2013 (w/Stadler) and becoming a regular fixture in the world’s biggest events.

“After about eight years, I reached about No. 250 [in the Emirates ATP Rankings] in singles and had always done pretty well in doubles, so I decided to focus solely on that about four years ago. I was lucky to start out with a great partner in Simon Stadler and then went from there,” said Monroe. “It was like a dream come true to play those [ATP World Tour] Masters 1000 events and Grand Slams that you grow up watching and after having a couple of wins in them, you feel like you belong.”

For a player whose exposure to clay as a junior was admittedly limited, he’s ultimately excelled on it and captured two of his three ATP World Tour doubles titles on the red dirt. But Monroe said his success on clay came due to being forced to learn how to love it.

“I didn’t play on clay very much growing up. We have green clay in the U.S., but on red clay, I didn’t really know what to do at first. But when I started playing with Stadler, he solely wanted to play on clay, so I had to start getting used to it,” said Monroe. “Eventually I stopped overthinking the movement on the surface, started focusing more on our game plan out there and ended up having fun on it.”

Largely due to his success in the first quarter of 2017, which also includes three semi-final finishes in Chennai, Auckland and Quito (all w/Sitak), Monroe is currently at a career-high Emirates ATP Doubles Ranking of No. 39. As he moves into a part of the season he’s enjoyed success in before, the American said his goals remain even loftier.

“I still want to be Top 10 and win a Grand Slam. I’m 34, but you see guys who are still pushing for Grand Slams in their late 30s and even in their 40s, so I feel like I still have plenty of time,” said Monroe. “As long as I can stay healthy and able to keep working hard, that’s what I’m going to keep pushing for.”

Tuesday play at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston was a washout, with all 13 first-round singles and doubles matches canceled before taking the court.

All remaining first-round singles matches will be completed on Wednesday. Among those on the schedule are fifth seed Fernando Verdasco taking on Kevin Anderson and sixth seed Feliciano Lopez squaring off against Bjorn Fratangelo. #NextGenATP players Hyeon Chung, Ernesto Escobedo and Jared Donaldson will also be in action.

Last year’s finalist Borna Coric earned a confidence boosting 6-3, 6-2 victory over seventh seed Diego Schwartzman on Tuesday at the Grand Prix Hassan II. The #NextGenATP player is appearing at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament on the back of a third-round run at the Miami Open presented by Itau (d. Thiem, l. to Mannarino).

Coric’s next opponent will be wild card Reda El Amrani. The home hope advanced to the second round when defending champion Federico Delbonis retired due to a left leg injury with the Moroccan leading 7-6(3), 1-0 after 66 minutes of play.

World No. 946 and 19-year-old wild card Amine Ahouda held his nerve to knock out eighth seed Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 38 minutes. Granollers, who will turn 31 on Wednesday, lost to fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the 2014 final.

“This was a very good match for me,” said Ahouda. “I felt confident after Davis Cup. Granollers is a great player and this victory means a lot to me. I’m living my dream and want to continue playing well. This is a great victory, but I want to keep going match by match. Hopefully I can continue as I love playing in front of the Moroccan crowd.”

Qualifier Gianluigi Quinzi advanced to the second round with an 7-6(8), 6-3 win over Paul-Henri Mathieu. The Italian awaits the winner of the match between fifth seed Paolo Lorenzi and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Top Seed Dimitrov Ready for Robredo Start

Grigor Dimitrov, the No. 1 seed in Marrakech, will face Tommy Robredo in the second round when he begins his campaign in the Moroccan city.

“I’ve been here for a few days and I got a chance to see the dromedaries and go for a walk around the city,” the Bulgarian told media during a press conference on Tuesday. “I’m happy to be back in competition and looking forward to my first match on Thursday. I’m facing a tough opponent and the first match of the clay season is always a tricky one.”

It’s the exciting new showcase of great, young talent on the ATP World Tour and here is your chance to be a part of it. Beginning Monday, you can purchase tickets for the #NextGenATP Finals in Milan.

The tournament, to take place 7-11 November, will feature the world’s top eight 21-and-under singles players. #NextGenATP star Alexander Zverev is currently leading the season-long Emirates ATP Race To Milan, which will track the progress of #NextGenATP players throughout the year. The top seven players in the race will qualify automatically, while the eighth spot will be reserved for a wild card.

See Who’s Pushing Zverev In The Emirates ATP Race To Milan Standings

Zverev has started strong this season. The 6’6” right-hander reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final last month at the Miami Open presented by Itau. En route, the 19-year-old German knocked off World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka to improve to 2-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry.

Earlier this season, in February, Zverev beat Richard Gasquet at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier to take his second ATP World Tour title.

Just behind Zverev, at No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan standings, is an exciting new face on the ATP World Tour, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev. The 21 year old celebrated his first ATP World Tour final in January at the Aircel Chennai Open before falling to then-No. 14 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain. The Moscow native then reached back-to-back quarter-finals in Montpellier and Marseille.

At No. 3 in the race is 18-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud, who reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final in February at the Rio Open presented by Claro. Russian 19-year-old Andrey Rublev and two Americans, 20-year-old Jared Donaldson and 19-year-old Taylor Fritz, who received the Emirates ATP Star Of Tomorrow last season, round out the top six.

In addition to great tennis, the #NextGenATP Finals will feature an exciting new dimension for fans. The tournament will trial a number of innovations with a view of ensuring continued growth in the popularity of men’s professional tennis.

The event will award US$1.275 million in prize money, and will follow a similar format to the ATP Finals, with a round-robin group stage followed by knock-out semi-finals and a final. While Emirates ATP Rankings points will serve as the criteria for entry, the tournament itself will not carry points.