After a chaotic few months, here are five ATP players who have all the momentum heading into the clay court season.
1. Hyeon Chung
The 21 year old South Korean has made a rapid start to the 2018 season as he has backed up his next gen finals win in style. Chung started off his season with an impressive Semi-Final showing at the Australian Open as he beat the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic before retiring in the last four to Roger Federer. In the four tournaments following the first slam of the year he has managed to reach the Quarter-Finals in all of them including Indian Wells and Miami.
Now making his top 20 debut, he will hope to capitalise on this momentum as he potentially reaches one of his favourite times of the year in the clay court swing. His best result on the red dirt last season came in Barcelona and Munich, where he reached the Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals respectively.
2. Diego Schwartzman
The Argentinian has had a mixed yet impressive start to the season as he is currently 8th in the Race to London. Schwartzman started off with a very good showing at the Australian Open after reaching the fourth round and pushed Rafael Nadal to four sets during a gruelling contest. The 25 year old has now propelled to a career high ranking of number 15 and a first 500 title in Rio De Janeiro has helped him reach this achievement.
‘El Peque’ is now entering the clay court season with confidence and momentum as he looks to reach unchartered territory when he enters the clay court swing in April. His best performance last year was at the Monte Carlo masters when he reached the Quarter-Finals losing to Rafael Nadal.
3. Kyle Edmund
The 23 year old Brit has surprised everyone with the start of the season he has had as he has jumped 24 spots in the world rankings since the start of the season. Edmund started his season by reaching the Semi-Finals of the Australian Open, where he beat Grigor Dimitrov en route before losing to Marin Cilic in the last four. Despite the good start he suffered back to back losses in America despite a very good performance against Frances Tiafoe in Miami.
So why does Edmund have momentum? Well, he has proved to be a threat on the clay and if he can produce performances like the loss against Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo last season then he will be very tough to beat considering his new found aggression
4. Pablo Carreno Busta
The Spaniard has had a mixed season which had a fantastic start after reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open where he lost a tough four set match to Marin Cilic. Despite a rough South American swing, Carreno Busta redeemed himself by gaining six wins in the United States including a Semi-Final performance in Miami.
The Spaniard now enters the Clay at number 12 in the world with all the momentum in his side he looks to crack the European clay court swing and climb even higher in the world rankings.
