It is one of the oldest and most glamorous tennis venues in the calendar—more than 110 years and counting. The Monte-Carlo tournament is the first of three Masters that pack in two whole months on clay, and nothing but clay, and it is set against one of the most iconic backdrops in sport.

Its terracotta courts overlook the Mediterranean Sea to the south and rugged peaks to the north. Head west, and those peaks edge their way past Nice, Cannes, and St Tropez. Head east, and the winding coast road heads into Italy in just 10 or so kilometres.

Little wonder that the Monte-Carlo Country Club, a couple of hair-pin bends across the border from Monaco into France, has captured many a tennis fan’s heart—and many a tennis player’s heart, too.

Rare absence of Nadal

One man in particular has made this place his own, Rafael Nadal. However, in the first of many notable elements in this year’s Draw, the 11-time champion is missing for the first time since 2005. He is to miss the opening salvo in what has been a quite extraordinary run of clay seasons for the Spaniard, and it was here that he won his first ever Masters title, age 18, just weeks before the first of 13 French Open titles.

World No1 to the fore

Nadal’s absence, then, is significant for the other 56 men in the draw, and particularly for world No1 Novak Djokovic. The two-time champion and twice runner-up—to Nadal—could extend his current record of 37 Masters titles to 38. But his appearance this year will be watched especially keenly by all tennis aficionados, for it will be only his second tournament of 2022, and his first since losing in the quarters of Dubai almost two months ago.

Not that he has been injured or ill, but rather, it has been because of his unvaccinated Covid status. So the outlook is bright in Monte-Carlo for the man who lives just down the road from the tennis club: Fit, fresh, well-practised on the Club’s clay—and sure to have plenty of support. The early stage of the draw has opened up, too, with the late withdrawal of No14 seed Roberto Bautista Agut, replaced by lucky loser Benjamin Bonzi, ranked 63—though the Frenchman first plays Briton Dan Evans.

That said, many of the headlines when the draw was made looked beyond Round 3 to a potential first meeting with the teenage superstar and No8 seed, Carlos Alcaraz, who is onto the clay after winning his first Masters title in Miami. The 18-year-old does not have an easy opener, though: No42 Sebastian Korda won his own tricky opener to set a first meeting with Alcaraz since their only other at the NextGen Finals six months ago.

Former champs back in the saddle

Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated return by a former champion was that by three-time Major champion and former No3 Stan Wawrinka, who beat compatriot Roger Federer to the title in 2014—winning his only Masters title to date.

Wawrinka faced one of the most dangerous unseeded players in the draw, the 36-ranked Alexander Bublik, who won in Montpellier in February via world No3 Alexander Zverev.

And the Swiss was not only the oldest man in the draw, age 37, but had been away for well over a year to undergo two left-foot surgeries. Indeed, he had just one match under his belt since that surgery, at the Marbella Challenger last week—a straight-forward loss.

Fitness and stamina were clearly the biggest issues facing the popular Swiss, and he was under no illusions in talking ATP.com ahead of the Monte-Carlo comeback:

“I thought I would be only a few weeks [away]. It lasted a whole year with many moments of doubts. It was extremely long and tough… I really needed to have the willpower to come back, to have the strength to go through rehab and everything, and I’m very happy to be here now.”

In the opening set, on perhaps his favourite surface, Wawrinka exchanged breaks, and then scored a second to lead 4-2. He was repeatedly tested by drop-shots from Bublik, but took to the net with some aplomb, and his forehand was soon finding its range, too.

Indeed in serving out the first set, Bublik had Wawrinka scampering from drop shot to lob retrieval, but he held, 6-3, in a scant half hour during which the Swiss looked as though he had never been away.

He was less imposing at the start of the second set, with a few errors creeping into his baseline game. He fought off two break points in the fourth game, and pressured Bublik through five deuces in the next. The Kazakh, though, has a potent serve to help at such times, and he turned the tables to earn set points at 5-4. They were playing very fast between points, and Wawrinka was surely starting to feel the rigours of the match. And serving at 5-6, he could not resist again, Bublik broke, 7-5, and they headed to a decider.

The Swiss levels were still slipping, with Bublik running him ragged from front to back of court via drop-shots, deft volley finishes and big serves. The Kazakh broke immediately, led 3-0, and Wawrinka could not run down the drop-shot pick-ups. The Swiss got a late break back, only to be broken a third time for set and match, 6-2.

The Kazakh promptly told listeners that he “hated clay” and could not wait until it was time for grass. That under-played his skills around the court, notably his speed in defence, disguise on drop shots, and winners on serve and at the net.

Another former champion, 34-year-old Fabio Fognini, also won his only career Masters in Monte-Carlo in 2019, and while the former No9 was now down to 32, he took to the court with his usual strut, and with his usual vocal Italian support. He needed that support in a long battle with Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, finally taking the win 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

Fognini’s problem is that his next match will be against defending champion and No3 seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas, who joined that same group of men with a single Masters title from this singular tournament. The young Greek did not drop a set en route to that 2021 title and went on to reach his first Major final at Roland Garros, but he had struggled to make the same impact beyond a run of hard-court Masters semis.

This year, he did have a semi run at the Australian Open and finished runner-up in Rotterdam, but he faced a tricky draw if he was to replicate his Monte-Carlo glory. His quarter, after Fognini, contained Diego Schwartzman and Felix Auger-Aliassime, and his half was topped by Zverev, Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner.

Notable returners and leavers

Nadal may have been the most high-profile man missing in action this week, but world No2 Daniil Medvedev was also out of contention after needing a hernia operation at the end of the Miami Masters. No6 Matteo Berrettini underwent surgery to his right hand, while Dominic Thiem has not played the main tour since last year’s European clay swing, after suffering a wrist injury. And just as he was primed to return, he contracted Covid: His clay return would have to wait a while longer.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, also a former top-five player, also ranked outside 200 and just weeks behind Wawrinka in age, would open against another 30-something, Marin Cilic, but hearts would be for the Frenchman who announced his retirement from tennis after this year’s French Open, following many battles with injury.

Also back was former No12 Borna Coric, away for a year with major shoulder injury, and now ranked 198. He won one match in Miami prior to Monaco but the Croat, still only 25 years only, would need every bit of his enviable work-ethic, and muscular, fast game, against the formidable young No9 seed Sinner.

Previous champions in draw: Djokovic (2), Tsitsipas (1, defending champion), Fognini (1), Wawrinka (1)

Previous finalists in draw: Rublev, Dusan Lajovic, Albert Ramos-Vinolas

Potential seeds missing: No2 Medvedev, No4 Nadal, No6 Berrettini, No15 Denis Shapovalov, No17 Reilly Opelka, No18 Bautista Agut, No23 John Isner

Projected quarter-finals

Top half: Djokovic vs Alcaraz; Casper Ruud vs Cameron Norrie

Bottom half: Auger-Aliassime vs Tsitsipas; Rublev vs Zverev

The men’s clay season

4 April

Houston 250: Opelka beat Isner

Marrakech 250: David Goffin beat Alex Molcan

10 April

Monte-Carlo Masters

18 April

Barcelona 500

Belgrade 250

25 April

Munich 250

Estoril 250

1 May

Madrid Masters

8 May

Rome Masters

15 May

Geneva 250

Lyon 250

22 May

French Open

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