Top seeded Novak Djokovic will have it rather difficult at the Monte-Carlo Open as he looks to kick-start his clay-court swing with a confidence-building campaign in the third Masters of the season. Below are the projected paths of Djokovic and Rafael Nadal along with some of the other exciting match-ups.
Djokovic, who had a stinker of a time at the Indian Wells and Miami Masters has been handed a first round bye like the other top eight seeds, but he could well face Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round. Kohlschreiber had defeated him in the third round at the Indian Wells Masters in March.
If he comes through that early test, Djokovic could be in line for one of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Diego Schwartzman or Gael Monfils, all of whom are capable of springing a surprise or two on their day. That said, the 14th seeded Monfils has beaten Djokovic just once from their 17 meeting before this – and that came at a Futures tournament in 2004, while Schwartzman is 0-2 on head to head with the world number one.
Only Tsonga has had any kind of success against Djokovic but he will need to first beat Taylor Fritz before overcoming either Schwartzman or Monfils in the second round.
And in the quarter-final, Djokovic might have 10th seeded Daniil Medvedev or Australian Open, Roger Federer-vanquisher Stefanos Tsitsipas waiting for him. Tsitsipas is the sixth seed and should not have too many worries till he potentially faces Medvedev in the third round.
In the second quarter of the draw, the winner of which could meet Djokovic in the semi-finals, fourth seeded Dominic Thiem and eighth seeded Karen Khachanov will be raring to face off in the last-eight. Thiem has had a wood on Rafael Nadal on clay, having won against him three times and with the Indian Wells Masters title win under his belt, he will be a tough opponent for Khachanov and Djokovic if things get to that stage.
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It is also this very quarter of the draw that both the Brits have been placed. Kyle Edmund starts his campaign with a match against Dusan Lajovic while Cameron Norrie plays Adrian Mannarino in their respective openers.
11-time champion and second seeded Nadal heads the other half of the draw with a potential match-up against fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut in round two. Bautista Agut is coming off a confidence-boosting win against Djokovic in Miami but facing Nadal on dirt will be a different kettle of fish.
Nadal’s first major challenge could come in the form of Grigor Dimitrov in the third round but that’s only if the unseeded Bulgarian can get past the 15th seeded Denis Shapovalov. Shapovalov is among the growing group of Canadians making a mark on ATP and WTA circuit and he would relish the opportunity to take on the Spaniard champion in the third round.
If the seventh seeded Marin Cilic can get past the likes of Laslo Djere and Stan Wawrinka in his first two matches, he could take on Nadal in the quarter-finals while the three-time Monte-Carlo Masters defending champion could have third seed Alexander Zverev or previous year’s runner-up Kei Nishikori for company in the semi-finals.
Zverev is undergoing a form rut so far this season but if he can make it as far as the semi-finals, things could brighten up for him in the lead-up to the next two Masters on clay and the French Open. Plus the added incentive of having a shot at Nadal in the semi-finals could be a motivator.
Djokovic’s Projected Path to the Title:
1st Round: Bye
2nd Round: Kohlschreiber
3rd Round: Tsonga, Monfils
Quarter-Final: Medvedev, Tsitsipas
Semi-Final: Thiem
Final: Nadal, Zverev
Nadal’s Projected Path to the Title:
1st Round: Bye
2nd Round: Bautista-Agut
3rd Round: Shapovalov, Dimitrov
Quarter-Final: Cilic, Wawrinka
Semi-Final: Zverev
Final: Djokovic, Thiem
Zverev’s Projected Path to the Title:
1st Round: Bye
2nd Round: Auger-Aliassime
3rd Round: Fognini, Simon
Quarter-Final: Nishikori, Coric
Semi-Final: Nadal
Final: Djokovic, Thiem
Thiem’s Projected Path to the Title:
1st Round: Bye
2nd Round: Klizan
3rd Round: Edmund, Goffin
Quarter-Final: Basilashvili, Khachanov
Semi-Final: Djokovic
Final: Nadal, Zverev
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