By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday April 7, 2023
The draw for the first clay-court Masters 1000 event of 2023 is out!
Two-time champion Novak Djokovic and defending two-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas are the top two seeds, and although Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal have pulled out of next week’s action due to injury, there are still a plethora of storylines to look out for.
First we’ll have a look at Djokovic’s projected path to the title.
The 2013 and 2015 champion has been out of action since losing in the semifinals to Daniil Medvedev at Dubai. He is 15-1 on the season, with titles at Adelaide and, of course, the Australian Open.
See the Full Draw Below:
Djokovic’s’ Path
The World No.1 has not played on clay since falling to Rafael Nadal at last year’s Roland-Garros quarterfinals. Strangely, Djokovic has lost his last two matches at Monte-Carlos, to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina last year and Dan Evans in 2021. Djokovic has not been past the quarterfinals at Monte-Carlo since his last title run in 2015, and he owns a 35-13 lifetime record at the event.
His path to the title features a potential quarterfinal clash with either Jannik Sinner or Hubert Hurkacz.
R1 - Bye
R2 - Nakashima or McDonald
R16 - Musetti or Kecmanovic
QF - Sinner or Hurkacz
SF - Medvedev, Norrie, Zverev or Rune
F - Tsitsipas, Ruud, Rublev or Fritz
Tsitsipas’ Path
Tsitsipas is 14-2 at Monte-Carlo and has won his last 10 matches at the event. But the Greek will have to be in good shape with his injured right shoulder to become the first player since Rafael Nadal to win three in a row in the Principality.
Here is his projected path to the title:
R1 - Bye
R2 - Bonzi or Zapata Miralles
R16 - Borna Coric or Jarry
QF - Fritz or Tiafoe
SF - Ruud or Rublev
F - Djokovic or Medvedev
First-rounders to watch
Andy Murray vs. [14] Alex de Minaur
Karen Khachanov vs. [9] Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Richard Gasquet vs. Dominic Thiem
[16] Lorenzo Musetti vs. Miomir Kecmanovic
Jiri Lehecka vs. [12] Frances Tiafoe
Diego Schwartzman vs. David Goffin