Favorites Djokovic, Alcaraz On a Collision Course in Monte-Carlo?
Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters Odds Favorites Djokovic and Alcaraz Could Meet in the Semifinals
The 11-Time Champion Rafael Nadal Withdrew From Monte-Carlo Masters Tournament
The clay court tennis season has arrived with many of the world’s top men’s players heading to Monte Carlo for the first of the Masters events being held on clay. When looking at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters odds, just one top-20 ranked player is missing from the field.
The tournament already lost a big hitter when 11-time Monte Carlo singles champion Rafael Nadal withdrew.
Andrey Rublev topped Holger Rune in the 2023 men’s singles final with Stefanos Tsitsipas failing in his bid to join Reginald Doherty, Anthony Wilding, and Rafael Nadal as the only player to win in Monte Carlo three years in a row.
The 56-player singles draw begins on Sunday with the champion being crowned on April 14.
When looking at the ATP schedule, the next tournament of note is the Barcelona Open.
Plenty of Contenders
American Ben Shelton is the only top 20 tennis player not in the field so keep that in mind when looking at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters Odds.
The tournament announced that 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka and 2016 finalist Gael Monfils are among the players receiving wild cards.
Wawrinka joins two-time champions Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Rublev as former winners of the event in the field.
Djokovic is considered a player to beat in any tournament he enters. However, Carlos Alcaraz comes in at +140 in the French Open men’s singles outrights according to the ATP betting odds followed by Djokovic at +220.
Djokovic and Alcaraz could meet in the semifinals.
Taylor Fritz is in Djokovic’s portion of the draw as is Lorenzo Musetti, who upset Djokovic in the 2023 event.
Rublev and Alex de Minaur could be waiting in the quarterfinals.
Casper Ruud, hard-serving Hubert Hurkacz, and Uga Humbert are the seeded players in Alcaraz’s portion of the draw. Keep that in mind when it comes to tennis betting options.
No. 4 seed Daniil Medvedev has Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Karen Khachanov as possible seeded players to contend while the final quarter includes No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner, No. 7 Holger Rune, No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov, and No. 16 Alexander Bublik.
Among the recent tournament winners to watch are Sinner, who won the Masters 1000 event in Miami, Indian Wells champion Carlos Alcaraz, Dubai champ Ugo Humbert, Alex de Minaur won at Acapulco and Sebastian Baez took the title in Santiago.
If the seeds hold up, it would be Djokovic vs Alcaraz in one semifinal with Sinner meeting Medvedev in the other.
Missing An Icon
Nadal won eight straight titles in Monte Carlo from 2005-2012 and after a three-year title drought at the tournament he has dominated, Nadal won the championships in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
With Nadal taking to social media to announce his decision to withdraw, this will be the third year in a row that he will miss the Monte Carlo tournament. That certainly impacted the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters odds.
“Unfortunately I have to tell you that I am not going to be playing in Monte-Carlo. My body simply won’t allow me,” Nadal wrote on social media. “And even if I am working hard and making the maximum effort every day with all the will to play and compete again at tournaments that have been very important for me, the truth is that I can’t play today.
“You have no idea how hard this is for me to not be able to play these events. The only thing I can do is to accept the situation and try to look at the immediate future keeping the excitement and will to play in order to give me a chance for things to get better.”
Nadal was planning to use his protected ranking to take part in one of his favorite tournaments.
Nadal returned to the tour in Brisbane in January when he won a pair of tennis matches. He was pointing toward a return at the French Open, a tournament he has won 14 times. He currently is third at +400 in the odds to win the French Open but his participation in the next Grand Slam event is very much in question.
A Look Back
Six of the top eight seeds advanced to the quarterfinals in the 2023 Monte Carlo tournament.
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic dropped the final two sets to No. 16 seed Lorenzo Musetti in the third round while fourth-seeded Casper Ruud lost in straight sets to qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff.
All four quarterfinals were decided in straight sets with Rublev eliminating Struff, Rune taking out No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev, seventh-seeded Jannik Sinner dropping just two games to oust Musetti and American Taylor Fritz knocking out No. 2 seed and two-time defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-4.
Both Rune and Rublev lost the first set in the semifinals before rallying past Sinner and Fritz with Rublev winning 7-5 in the third set in the title match. Rune fell short in his bid to become the first teenager to win the title in Monte Carlo since Nadal in 2006.
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