TENNIS – The Draw of the 2014 Monte-Carlo Rolex Master, the first Master 1000 Tournament on clay of the season, was held today. The possible semifinals could be Nadal-Wawrinka and Djokovic- Federer. The prestigious Monte-Carlo Rolex Master in the Country Club will get underway on Sunday. Diego Sampaolo
The King of Monte-Carlo Rafa Nadal, eight-time champion at the Country Club, could meet David Ferrer in the quarter final and Stanislas Wawrinka in the semifinal. Defending champion Novak Djokovic could face Tomas Berdych in the quarter finals and Roger Federer in the semifinals. The other possible quarter finals could be Wawrinka-Milos Raonic and Federer against either Jo Wilfred Tsonga or last year’s semifinalist Fabio Fognini.
Nadal, who lost just two matches against Guillermo Coria in the third round in 2003 and against Novak Djokovic in the final last year, could face 2014 Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka, if the Swiss World Number 3 will be able to return to the same form which led him to his triumph Down Under. It could be a re-match of this year’s Australian Open final won by the Lausanne player.
In the bottom half of the draw Djokovic, winner last year against Nadal and twice more finalist in 2009 and 2012, could face Roger Federer, who played in three consecutive finals in 2006, 2007 and 2008 in the other semifinal. They have a 1-1 head-t-head draw this year: Federer won the Dubai semifinal, but Djokovic beat the Swiss 17-Grand Slam champion in the Indian Wells final.
First quarter:
In the first quarter of the draw Nadal will start his campaign against Giles Simon or a qualifier. Nadal will be looking to become the first player in the Open Era to win nine titles in the same tournament. In the third round the Mallorcan legend may play against Michail Youzhny who will make his debut against Italian Andreas Seppi. In the quarter final Nadal could face either Grigor Dimitrov or David Ferrer. Nadal dropped a set against Dimitrov last year in the Mediterranean Principality. Dimitrov, who will make his debut against Spaniard Marcel Granollers in the first round, beat Djokovic on clay last year in Madrid. In the head-to-head clashes on clay Nadal leads 17-1 against Ferrer
Monte-Carlo is like a home-tournament for Nadal who won eight years in a row between 2005 and 2012 and boasts a record of 48-2 winning matches. “Monte-Carlo is the tournament I dreamt to win when I was a child. I watched this court with the sea in the backdrop on television and I thought it would have been fantastic to lift this trophy in this venue. I managed to win eight times and the crowd has adopted me. Mont-Carlo is my favourite tournament”, said Nadal
Second quarter:
Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka has been drawn in a second quarter which features some clay specialists like Nicholas Almagro, Tommy Robredo and Federico Delbonis. Wawrinka will start his campaign against either Marin Cilic or Fernando Verdasco before a possible third round clash against Almagro and Robredo, Delbonis or Milos Raonic.
Third round:
Roger Federer returns to Monte-Carlo after two years of absence. He reached the quarter final in 2011. “The goal is to win another Grand Slam. I have more chances at Wimbledon and at the US Open. I beat Djokovic at Dubai but It is more difficult to beat Rafa”, said Federer on the eve of Monte-Carlo.
Federer will be bidding to win the 22nd Master 1000 tournament of his career.
Federer, who won in Dubai and reached the final in Indian Wells losing against Djokovic, will start against either Ivo Karlovic or Radek Stepanek in the second round before possibly meeting 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist Jerzy Janowicz. Federer may face either Jo Wilfred Tsonga or last year’s Monte-Carlo semifinalist Fabio Fognini. The Italian is a clay specialist and beat Andy Murray last week in the Davis Cup quarter final between Italy and Great Britain in Naples. Federer and Fognini led their national teams to the Davis Cup semifinal and will meet next September for the match between Switzerland and Italy.
Number 10 seed and World Number 13 Fognini will start against Portugal’s Joao Sousa in the first round and Roberto Bautista Agut or Vasek Pospisil in the second round.
Fourth quarter:
Last year’s Monte-Carlo champion Novak Djokovic is in very good form and is ready to defend his title after scoring the Indian Wells-Miami double for the second time in his career. “I live and train in Monte-Carlo. Winning here in the Club where I train gives me an amazing feeling.”
Djokovic will face either Gael Monfils or Kevin Anderson in the third round before facing a possible quarter final clash against Tomas Berdych. Ernests Gulbis against Aleksander Dolgopolov (semifinalist at Indian Wells) will be the most interesting first round match in this quarter of the draw.
Djokovic will be looking to clinch his fifth consecutive Master 1000 title after winning in Shanghai and Paris Bercy at the end of 2013 and winning Indian Wells and Miami last month.
The Big Four Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Andy Murray (absent this year in Monte-Carlo) have won 34 of the last 36 Master 1000 tournaments. The only players able to break this dominance of the Big Four were Robin Soderling in 2010 and David Ferrer in 2012.
