Monte-Carlo Masters 2023: Men's draw, schedule, players, prize money breakdown and more
The 116th edition of the Monte-Carlo Masters is scheduled to start on April 9. It will be the first clay-court Masters 1000 event of the 2023 season.
Rafael Nadal, the most successful player in the history of the tournament, will not be competing for the second successive year. Nadal is yet to recover from the injury he suffered at the Australian Open.
Another notable absentee from the competition is Carlos Alcaraz, who will be sitting out for fitness reasons.
However, there are several top players who will be present in Monte-Carlo, and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top. Ahead of the tournament, here's everything you need to know about its history, the players in the men's draw, and more.
What is the Monte-Carlo Masters?
The Monte-Carlo Masters is one of the oldest existing tournaments on the tennis calendar, with the inaugural edition taking place all the way back in 1897. Reginald Doherty won the tournament on that occasion, beating Conway Blackwood Price in the final.
Over the years some of the greatest players of all time have won the tournament, with Rafael Nadal famously triumphing on 11 occasions. Other past champions include Novak Djokovic, Bjorn Borg and Ivan Lendl.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is the two-time defending champion at the Monte-Carlo Masters. He won last year's tournament by defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final.
Venue
The Monte-Carlo Masters takes place at the Monte Carlo Country Club, which has a capacity of 10,000 spectators.
Players
Novak Djokovic is the top seed at this year's tournament and will be a heavy favorite to win. However, this has statistically been the Serb's least effective Masters 1000 event.
Djokovic has a win percentage of 72.9% and has won only seven out of 13 matches in Monte-Carlo since his last triumph in 2015.
There are a number of players who are capable of challenging Djokovic for the Monte-Carlo Masters title this year. Stefanos Tsitsipas, the two-time defending champion here, ranks the highest on that list.
Fourth seed Casper Ruud had a torrid start to the 2023 season but clay is his forte, so there is a good chance we could see him put together a deep run. Third seed Daniil Medvedev has a poor record on the surface but it's difficult to write him off considering the kind of form he is in at the moment.
Other players capable of challenging for the title include Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev.
Schedule
The qualifying rounds begin on April 8 and will conclude on April 9. Main-draw action will commence on April 10.
The quarterfinals are scheduled to take place on April 14 while the semifinals are set for April 15. The final will be held on Sunday, April 16.
The official tournament schedule can be accessed here.
Prize Money
The total prize money for the Monte-Carlo Masters is $6,310,000, and the winner will receive a cheque worth $974,549 coupled with 1000 ranking points.
Here's a detailed breakdown of the prize money and ranking points:
Where to Watch
Viewers in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada can watch the tournament live on the following channels and sites:-
USA: All matches will be broadcast on Tennis Channel.
UK: Fans in the UK can watch the proceedings live on Amazon Prime Video.
Australia: All matches will be telecast on beIN Sports.
Canada: Viewers in Canada can watch all the matches on TSN.