World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has been pitted in the same half of the draw as Roger Federer as he aims to retain his title and clinch a third crown at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.

The Serb defeated Tomas Berdych last year to add to the title he won in 2013, when he beat Rafael Nadal. Djokovic comes into the third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the season having lost just one match in 2016, lifting trophies in Doha, the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami.

The 28-year-old Djokovic will look to extend his Masters 1000 domination and win a 29th crown at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. The Belgrade native has reached the final at every Masters 1000 tournament since 2014 Shanghai, where he was beaten in the semi-finals by Federer.

And it could be a semi-final meeting for Djokovic with Federer in Monte-Carlo, should both men advance. It would be their 46th encounter, with Djokovic edging into a 23-22 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry after beating the Swiss in the Australian Open semi-finals.

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Djokovic opens his campaign against either Jiri Vesely, who is in the Marrakech semi-finals later today, or Teymuraz Gabashvili. The right-hander is projected to meet 13th seed Gael Monfils in the third round and could face eighth seed David Ferrer in the quarter-finals.

Ferrer, who reached the Monte-Carlo final in 2011 (l. to Nadal), is in the same section of the draw as #NextGen players Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev, who face each other in the first round. The in-form David Goffin, fresh from semi-finals in Indian Wells and Miami, could also challenge Ferrer for a quarter-final spot.

Federer is set to play his first tournament since undergoing arthroscopic surgery for a meniscal tear in his left knee after the Australian Open. The 34-year-old Swiss is looking to add the Monte-Carlo crown to his collection of 24 Masters 1000 trophies; he reached the final in 2006 (l. to Nadal), 2007 (l. to Nadal), 2008 (l. to Nadal) and 2014 (l. to Wawrinka).

Federer begins against Thomaz Bellucci or Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, with the possibility of Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round. Both eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and ninth seed Richard Gasquet could pose a threat to Federer in the quarter-finals.

Second seed Andy Murray, eight-time champion Nadal, 2014 winner Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych headline the bottom half of the draw.

New father, Murray, is looking to reach the Monte-Carlo final for the first time, after semi-final efforts in 2009 and 2011 (l. to Nadal). The Scot opens his campaign against either a qualifier or Guido Pella and could meet 16th-seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire in the third round.

Murray is projected to face the sixth-seeded Berdych in the quarter-finals, but the Czech must first advance through a section that includes fellow Monaco resident Milos Raonic, who enjoyed strong results in March with a final showing in Indian Wells and the quarter-finals in Miami.

Nadal and Wawrinka find themselves on a collision course in arguably the most challenging section of the draw. The 29-year-old Nadal has a 53-4 tournament record in Monte-Carlo, with his last title coming in 2012 (d. Djokovic).

Nadal faces Lukas Rosol or Aljaz Bedene in his opening second-round match before the prospect of a third-round clash with 12th seed Dominic Thiem, who beat the Spaniard in February when the pair met on clay in the Buenos Aires semi-finals.

Fourth seed Wawrinka, who won his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown with victory at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in 2014, is looking to bounce back after a surprise second-round exit in Miami (l. to Kuznetsov). The Swiss faces a tough draw though, beginning against either #NextGen star Borna Coric – in the Marrakech semi-finals – or Philipp Kohlschreiber. He then has the possibility of Gilles Simon or Grigor Dimitrov in the third round.

Main draw play begins on Sunday in Monte-Carlo.

Americans Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan will play for their sixth Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship title on Saturday.

The top seeds reached their second final of 2016 as they defeated fourth-seeded countrymen Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey 7-6(5), 6-3 on Friday afternoon. They saved all four break point chances faced on serve, while capitalising on two of their four opportunities.

The Bryans are looking to win their 110th team title and first since the Rogers Cup in August. They have won five titles (2007, ’09-11, ’14) in their past seven visits to Houston, and have a 35-8 record at this ATP World Tour 250 tournament.

Argentines Advance In Marrakech

Guillermo Duran and Maximo Gonzalez advanced to the title match at the Grand Prix Hassan II when they defeated third seeds Mate Pavic and Michael Venus 5-7, 6-4, 10-7 in one hour and 46 minutes. They will challenge Marin Draganja and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi on Saturday.

Former champion Juan Monaco knocked out fifth seed Sam Querrey to kick off quarter-final action on Friday at the Fayez Sarofim & Co US Men’s Clay Court Championship. The 32-year-old Argentine won 6-4, 6-4 to improve his record against the American to 5-1.

The Tandil native, who previously hoisted the trophy in Houston in 2012 (d. Isner), survived six aces from his opponent and saved all three break points faced to reach the semi-finals in 74 minutes. He next faces the winner of third seed Feliciano Lopez and Tim Smyczek.

In action later, top seed John Isner takes on NextGen’s Hyeon Chung and Jack Sock continues his title defence against seventh seed Marcos Baghdatis.

Did You Know?

At least one American has reached the quarter-finals every year since the US Men’s Clay Court Championships relocated to Houston in 2001. This is the fifth year that four or more Americans have reached the last eight in Houston, but just the second time since 2001 that Americans are in contention for all four semi-final berths (also 2003). 

Next Generation player Borna Coric is one match win away from reaching his second ATP World Tour final.

Third seed Coric hit 12 aces to beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4 in three hours and seven minutes on Friday at the Grand Prix Hassan II. Mathieu, who won the 2007 title when the tournament was played in Casablanca, saved 11 of 14 break point opportunities.

“It was a very tough match, obviously,” said Coric. “I didn’t feel confident as I had yet to play a match here, so I was a little nervous. I was extremely happy how I played, but I was a little unlucky in the tie-break when I didn’t play well on the important points. I just have to keep fighting.”

The 19-year-old Coric, who reached the Aircel Chennai Open final (l. to Wawrinka) in January, goes on to face eighth seed Jiri Vesely, who upset top seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 7-6(2). The 22-year-old Czech saved all three break points he faced in the one hour, 52-minute victory. Both Coric (2014) and Vesely (2013) are past winners of the ATP Star of Tomorrow presented by Emirates.

Earlier in the day, 35-year-old Albert Montanes defeated Facundo Bagnis 6-1, 7-5 in 75 minutes. Bagnis was contesting his first tour-level quarter-final.

Montanes will next face fourth seed Federico Delbonis, who recorded his 13th win of the year to overcome seventh seed Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5, 6-2.

Argentines Reach Doubles Final

Guillermo Duran and Maximo Gonzalez advanced to the title match when they defeated third seeds Mate Pavic and Michael Venus 5-7, 6-4, 10-7 in one hour and 46 minutes. They will challenge Marin Draganja and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi on Saturday.

Five-time Houston champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan beat young Americans Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-3 to move into the semi-finals of the Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men’s Clay Court Championship on Thursday. The top seeds broke the 18 year olds four times (4/5) and secured the win in 58 minutes.

The Bryans, who are looking for their first title since Montreal 2015, survived two match points in a first-round win over countrymen Denis Kudla and Donald Young. They will face Americans Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey in the final four. Johnson and Querrey, the fourth seeds in Houston, saw off Chris Guccione and Andre Sa 6-3, 2-6, 10-8.

Dragana/Qureshi Into Marrakech Final

Unseeded duo Marin Draganja and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi advanced to the Grand Prix Hassan II doubles final by defeating Rohan Bopanna and Denis Istomin 7-6(5), 7-6(5). The two teams combined to save all 15 break points in the 94-minute match. Draganja and Qureshi only won one more point than their opponents (77-76).

Taking part in the other semi-final will be Guillermo Duran and Maximo Gonzalez, who upset second seeds Marc Lopez and David Marrero 6-4, 6-4. They will face third seeds Mate Pavic and Michael Venus, 6-4, 6-3 winners over Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Jiri Vesely.

Fourth seed Jack Sock defeated qualifier Matthew Barton 6-2, 7-6(5) on Thursday to move into the quarter-finals of the Fayez Sarofim & Co US Men’s Clay Court Championship. The defending champion won 80 per cent of first serve points and secured his sixth consecutive win in Houston in 75 minutes. He has not lost a set in Houston since the first round last year (d. Souza).

“It’s never easy playing a guy you’ve never faced before and who you haven’t seen,” Sock said of Barton. “He’s very athletic and has a pretty big serve. He hit a couple at 138mph. I didn’t realise he had that massive of a serve.

“I’ve been here for a week practicing, so I was a bit anxious to get on the court and play my first match. I felt happy with my one-two punch. I dictated well with my forehand.”

Twelve months ago, Sock earned his maiden ATP World Tour title by defeating countryman Sam Querrey in the final as unseeded player. Now No. 25 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Sock improved to 8-6 on the year and earned his first clay-court win of 2016. He is looking to reach his second final of the season, having retired due to illness against Roberto Bautista Agut in Auckland in January.

Wild card Tim Smyczek dismissed fellow American Donald Young 6-2, 6-4 in 56 minutes to reach his second quarter-finals of the year (l. to Querrey in Delray Beach). A resurgent Smyzcek, who only had five tour-level wins last year (5-13), is already 6-5 in 2016.

Awaiting the Milwaukee native is Feliciano Lopez, who eliminated Lukas Lacko 7-6(4), 6-1. The third seed won all but four points on his first serve (27/31) and improved to 2-0 in the FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against the Slovak. The left-handed Spaniard topped Smyczek 7-5, 6-4 in their lone past tour-level meeting (2014 Toronto).

Jiri Vesely had to battle for more than three hours on Thursday to reach the Grand Prix Hassan II quarter-finals.

The eighth seed recorded just his third match win of the season by overcoming qualifier Nikola Mektic 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(5). Vesely hit 15 aces to Mektic’s 10.

“It was a tough match today,” said Vesely. “I didn’t play with a lot of confidence because I only won one match before the beginning of this tournament. I’m very happy about this victory. I kept fighting and never gave up. It was a very important win for me.”

Vesely will next play top seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who broke a three-match losing streak against Nicolas Almagro in a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory. Garcia-Lopez won the 2014 title (d. Granollers) when the ATP World Tour 250 tournament was played in Casablanca.

Seventh seed Pablo Carreno Busta lost just five of his first service points in a 6-3, 7-6(5) win over Denis Istomin.