Monte Carlo Masters: An analysis of the chances of the Big Four
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With the azure skies kissing the cobalt-blue Mediterranean in the distance, the setting for the Monte Carlo Masters looks straight out of a dream. There cannot be an event more picturesque and inviting than this to kickstart the clay season.
Excitement will naturally be high as this is the road that culminates in the season’s second Grand Slam in Paris. How will the ATP’s famed Big Four fare? Will there be a blip in Novak Djokovic’s form? Can the ‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal look ominous once again?
We take a detailed look at the revered quartet’s chances:
Novak Djokovic
Irrepressible. Unstoppable. Invincible.
No challenge has been big enough to thwart him. No opponent has been intimidating enough to stop him. The Novak Djokovic juggernaut simply continues to roll on.
Instead of waiting to see who will emerge the winner at a certain tournament, these days it’s more of a wait to see who can stretch the Serb to three sets, if at all.
But here’s a twist to that success story. For all his versatility, the World No. 1 still has not been able to crown himself the king of the most prestigious clay tournament – the French Open. Given his continued mastery of every event, it’s probably just a matter of time before he is able to conquer even that.
Nevertheless, that glaring hole in his resume does indeed present a glimmer of hope to his peers. Can they do any damage this week to the Monte Carlo resident?
Djokovic shouldn’t really have anything to worry about till the quarter-finals. He starts against the winner of the contest between the 55th ranked Jiri Vesely and World No. 52 Teymuraz Gabashvili. The Miami and Indian Wells quarter-finalist Gael Monfils could test him with his funky shots in the Round of 16 but the top seed certainly knows how to subdue such players.
His quarter-final opponent will be one from a heavily loaded part of the draw that sees the likes of Indian Wells and Miami semi-finalist David Goffin, the 2013 French Open runner-up David Ferrer and the rising star Alexander Zverev.
Third seed Roger Federer is slated to meet him in the semi-finals in his first competition since his surgery.
The road apparently looks smooth enough for the 11-time Slam winner to make a successful defense of his crown and lay down an early marker for the elusive French Open title.