The Monte-Carlo Masters, which started this week, usually marks the start of the clay court season. Although it is not the first clay court tournament of this era, its position shortly after the start of the clay court season and its status as a Masters 1000 event really brings the clay court season. It is traditionally when most professional players start from the red soil. The tournament is played on traditional, slowly red clay at sea level, which tends to encourage long physical encounters. It also marks a stylistic departure from the hard-court action scenes that preceded it. In many ways, it feels like a completely different game in terms of what it takes to be successful.
As athletes struggle to make the necessary adjustments to be successful on the water while adapting to the extremely high demands on the body, it often leads to great frustration. We’ve certainly had a few of them in recent years, and with a new edition starting, there’s no better time to look back at a few of them, including some of the best players on the water as well as some of your favourites.
The biggest problems in Monte-Carlos
2005: Richard Gasquet defeats Roger Federer (Quarterfinal)
There is no doubt that it is the most famous in the history of the competition. The unknown 18-year-old Gasquet, who was outside the top 100 and played with one hand as fancy as the man he faced, stunned the tennis world by doing the unthinkable. He beat Roger Federer, who at the time was #1 and on a 25 match winning streak, saving not one, but three match points along the way. It marked a pivotal moment in the Frenchman’s career. He eventually lost to Rafa Nadal in three sets in the next match. He defeated the Swiss Maestro one more time throughout his career, losing nineteen times, highlighting what that success was.
2019: Fabio Fognini defeats Rafael Nadal (Semi finals)
In the 2019 semi-finals, Fabio Fognini, as good as he is, played lights-out tennis to defeat Nadal in straight sets, ending Spain’s 25-set winning streak at the tournament. He completely obliterated the defending champion, at one point leading 5-0 in the second set. In doing so, he became only the fourth player to beat the 11-time champion in Monte-Carlo. He went on to win the tournament, which remarkably was his first Masters 1000 title. It was also the last time he beat the Spaniard, having done so three other times. As for Rafa, he described it as one of his worst clay matches. He also did not win Monte-Carlo again, underscoring once again what an important day it was.
2016: Jiri Vesely defeats Novak Djokovic (Round 2)
When a top player is eliminated in just the second round, heads tend to turn. When that player is ranked #1 in the world and named Novak Djokovic, it becomes a headache. However, that’s what happened when Maczech, who was ranked #55 at the time, took him out in three sets, which at the time was his first ten wins in nine rounds. It remains one of Novak’s most unexpected debuts in his prime. Perhaps more impressively, the Czech beat him again, six years later, in the Dubai Quarter final. He leads their head-to-head 2-0, putting him in a rare group of players leading the Serbian giants in their meetings.
Is It Overcast This Year?
While there have been a few other games that can definitely be considered confusing over the years, there have been very few that have been as big as the ones mentioned above. They were as amazing as they were unexpected in the way the events unfolded, which leads to the question of whether we can expect or hope to see something terrifying that will compete with the unexpected. Of course there is a sense that such a game would have to involve one of Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner to be considered a true bombshell moment. There is no doubt that there will be many players who hope to create such titles, set the red clay trap and increase the popularity of Monte-Carlo.
Our team of experts, as always, will provide details and predictions about the matches as they unfold. But, like in those games, if we’re going to get a shocking moment, it’s probably going to be one that no one saw coming. Fingers crossed!
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
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