ATP Monte Carlo Preview: Federer Begins Clay Campaign
Posted on April 11, 2005World No. 1 Roger Federer shows he is serious in his quest for a first French Open title with his first appearance this week at the Masters Series-Monte Carlo since 2002.
In contrast are top Americans Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, Mardy Fish and James Blake who are choosing to begin their claycourt campaign later in April, leaving countryman Vince Spadea as the lone U.S. representative in the field.
ATP players are "required" to play Masters Series events, a requirement that has come up lame without punishment due to the year-end bonus pool money drying up.
Other Top 10 members missing out on Monte are Lleyton Hewitt nursing the toe injury, and the as-yet-unannounced absence of Argentine David Nalbandian.
While some of the top guns have stayed home, many of the lower-ranked Spaniards and Argentines are elevated to superstar status with their move to the red dirt, and difficult first-round matches abound for the seeds in the principality, which retains a somber mood after last week's loss of Prince Rainier.
Here is the breakdown of the four quarters of the draw for the 2005 Masters Series-Monte Carlo:
Top Quarter
Seeds: (1) Roger Federer, (10) Nikolay Davydenko, (7) Joachim "The Jackhammer" Johansson, (13) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic
Floaters: "Grinning" Greg Rusedski, Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez, Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco, Gustavo Kuerten, Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer
Not a bad draw for Club Fed, but he'll have to bypass a number of clay grinders to reach even the quarters. Rusedski will have to play the match of his life to even challenge Fed in his opener, with potential second- and third-round meetings with Spaniard Al Montanes then either Kuerten, Verdasco or Gonzalez. Fed's seeded third-round opponent would be Baby Goran, but the Croatian will have a hard time against the one-two punch in his openers against Guga, then either Gonzo or Hot Sauce. The Jackhammer will face dirt-tested qualifiers in both his first and second rounds, while (10) Davydenko will have an opening scrapper against Tuna Melzer. Don't be surprised to see unseeded former Roland Garros winner Al Costa sneak through to the quarterfinals against Fed or his conqueror.
Second Quarter
Seeds: (4) Gaston Gaudio, (8) Ivan Ljubicic, (11) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal, (15) Radek Stepanek
Floaters: Rainer Schuettler, Nicolas Kiefer, Vince Spadea, (WC) Gael "Force" Monfils, Olivier "The Roach" Rochus
Who can stop (4) Gaudio and (11) Nadal from a blockbuster quarterfinal meeting? Gaudio opens against a qualifier before facing the winner of the all-German Schuettler-Kiefer conflict. Nadal will open with one of the tournament's highlights, an all-teen future-of-men's-tennis match-up against the wildcard Monfils, who will have his own army of supporters in Monaco. Big-serving Croat Ivan Ljubicic, almost anonymous in the midst of this clay-talented quarter, will have the chance to build some momentum with an opener against one of the Belgian Roach brothers, then the winner of Luis Horna-Tomas Berdych before coming up against whoever comes out of the Nadal-Monfils-Chela-Malisse foursome.
Third Quarter
Seeds: (3) Tim Henman, (6) Guillermo "El Fragile" Coria, (12) Thomas Johansson, (14) Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty
Floaters: Paul-Henri Mathieu, Dave Ferrer, Mariano Zabaleta
This quarter of the draw could open up really quickly, with Coria facing a tough opener against the clay-due Mathieu, and Henman facing the Argentine veteran Zabaleta. Another seed looking at a first-round exit is (14) The Dominator against Ferrer, who in his last two events reached the semifinals at the MS-Miami and the final at Valencia. The No. 12-seeded T.Johansson could gain momentum with a soft draw until a third-round beating from the Coria-Mathieu winner.
Bottom Quarter
Seeds: (2) Marat Safin, (5) "King" Carlos Moya, (9) Guillermo Canas, (16) Jiri Novak
Floaters: Mariano Puerta, Igor Andreev, Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, (WC) Juan Carlos Ferrero, "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, Hyung-Taik Lee
Argentine veteran Mariano Puerta has already beaten Carlos Moya twice on clay in 2005, which means bad news for the Spaniard in his opener. Safin, the top-seeded player in the quarter, could likely face problems depending on which personality of the Russian shows for his opening-round meeting against the streaky Korean Hyung-Taik Lee, who last year reached the third round at Roland Garros. Other oddities in the section include the struggling former Roland Garros champ Ferrero against the monster-serving Dr. Ivo, the Valencia winner Andreev against (9) Canas, and (16) Novak vs. the big-serving Beast. In a perfect world Safin would face off against Moya in the quarterfinals, but in this section of floaters, with each struggling of late, the punters will be on alert.
Potential quarterfinal match-ups in Monte later in the week are (1) Federer vs. (7) J.Johansson or Costa, (4) Gaudio vs. (11) Nadal, (6) Coria vs. (3) Henman, Zabaleta or Ferrer, and (5) Moya vs. (2) Safin or (WC) Ferrero.
In last year's final, (3) Coria spanked (4) Schuettler 6-2, 6-1, 6-3. Returning champions in this year's field are Coria (2004), Ferrero (2003-02), Kuerten (2001,'99), and Moya (1998).
On court Monday in M.C. are (WC) Ferrero vs. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, (6) Guillermo "El Fragile" Coria vs. (WC) Mathieu, (11) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal vs. (WC) Gael "Force" Monfils, H.-T. Lee vs. (2) Safin, Saulnier vs. Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, (4) Gaudio vs. (Q) Christophe "The Roach" Rochus, Zabaleta vs. (3) Henman, Soderling vs. Santoro, (Q) Ascione vs. Beck, (16) Novak vs. Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, (Q) Mantilla vs. (7) Joachim "The Jackhammer" Johansson, (Q) Gasquet vs. (Q) Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez, Schuettler vs. Kiefer in an all-German, Juan Ignacio "The Spitting Snake" Chela vs. Xavier "X-Man" Malisse, Spadea vs. (15) Stepanek, and (Q) Hanescu vs. Calleri.
In contrast are top Americans Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, Mardy Fish and James Blake who are choosing to begin their claycourt campaign later in April, leaving countryman Vince Spadea as the lone U.S. representative in the field.
ATP players are "required" to play Masters Series events, a requirement that has come up lame without punishment due to the year-end bonus pool money drying up.
Other Top 10 members missing out on Monte are Lleyton Hewitt nursing the toe injury, and the as-yet-unannounced absence of Argentine David Nalbandian.
While some of the top guns have stayed home, many of the lower-ranked Spaniards and Argentines are elevated to superstar status with their move to the red dirt, and difficult first-round matches abound for the seeds in the principality, which retains a somber mood after last week's loss of Prince Rainier.
Here is the breakdown of the four quarters of the draw for the 2005 Masters Series-Monte Carlo:
Top Quarter
Seeds: (1) Roger Federer, (10) Nikolay Davydenko, (7) Joachim "The Jackhammer" Johansson, (13) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic
Floaters: "Grinning" Greg Rusedski, Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez, Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco, Gustavo Kuerten, Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer
Not a bad draw for Club Fed, but he'll have to bypass a number of clay grinders to reach even the quarters. Rusedski will have to play the match of his life to even challenge Fed in his opener, with potential second- and third-round meetings with Spaniard Al Montanes then either Kuerten, Verdasco or Gonzalez. Fed's seeded third-round opponent would be Baby Goran, but the Croatian will have a hard time against the one-two punch in his openers against Guga, then either Gonzo or Hot Sauce. The Jackhammer will face dirt-tested qualifiers in both his first and second rounds, while (10) Davydenko will have an opening scrapper against Tuna Melzer. Don't be surprised to see unseeded former Roland Garros winner Al Costa sneak through to the quarterfinals against Fed or his conqueror.
Second Quarter
Seeds: (4) Gaston Gaudio, (8) Ivan Ljubicic, (11) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal, (15) Radek Stepanek
Floaters: Rainer Schuettler, Nicolas Kiefer, Vince Spadea, (WC) Gael "Force" Monfils, Olivier "The Roach" Rochus
Who can stop (4) Gaudio and (11) Nadal from a blockbuster quarterfinal meeting? Gaudio opens against a qualifier before facing the winner of the all-German Schuettler-Kiefer conflict. Nadal will open with one of the tournament's highlights, an all-teen future-of-men's-tennis match-up against the wildcard Monfils, who will have his own army of supporters in Monaco. Big-serving Croat Ivan Ljubicic, almost anonymous in the midst of this clay-talented quarter, will have the chance to build some momentum with an opener against one of the Belgian Roach brothers, then the winner of Luis Horna-Tomas Berdych before coming up against whoever comes out of the Nadal-Monfils-Chela-Malisse foursome.
Third Quarter
Seeds: (3) Tim Henman, (6) Guillermo "El Fragile" Coria, (12) Thomas Johansson, (14) Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty
Floaters: Paul-Henri Mathieu, Dave Ferrer, Mariano Zabaleta
This quarter of the draw could open up really quickly, with Coria facing a tough opener against the clay-due Mathieu, and Henman facing the Argentine veteran Zabaleta. Another seed looking at a first-round exit is (14) The Dominator against Ferrer, who in his last two events reached the semifinals at the MS-Miami and the final at Valencia. The No. 12-seeded T.Johansson could gain momentum with a soft draw until a third-round beating from the Coria-Mathieu winner.
Bottom Quarter
Seeds: (2) Marat Safin, (5) "King" Carlos Moya, (9) Guillermo Canas, (16) Jiri Novak
Floaters: Mariano Puerta, Igor Andreev, Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, (WC) Juan Carlos Ferrero, "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, Hyung-Taik Lee
Argentine veteran Mariano Puerta has already beaten Carlos Moya twice on clay in 2005, which means bad news for the Spaniard in his opener. Safin, the top-seeded player in the quarter, could likely face problems depending on which personality of the Russian shows for his opening-round meeting against the streaky Korean Hyung-Taik Lee, who last year reached the third round at Roland Garros. Other oddities in the section include the struggling former Roland Garros champ Ferrero against the monster-serving Dr. Ivo, the Valencia winner Andreev against (9) Canas, and (16) Novak vs. the big-serving Beast. In a perfect world Safin would face off against Moya in the quarterfinals, but in this section of floaters, with each struggling of late, the punters will be on alert.
Potential quarterfinal match-ups in Monte later in the week are (1) Federer vs. (7) J.Johansson or Costa, (4) Gaudio vs. (11) Nadal, (6) Coria vs. (3) Henman, Zabaleta or Ferrer, and (5) Moya vs. (2) Safin or (WC) Ferrero.
In last year's final, (3) Coria spanked (4) Schuettler 6-2, 6-1, 6-3. Returning champions in this year's field are Coria (2004), Ferrero (2003-02), Kuerten (2001,'99), and Moya (1998).
On court Monday in M.C. are (WC) Ferrero vs. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, (6) Guillermo "El Fragile" Coria vs. (WC) Mathieu, (11) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal vs. (WC) Gael "Force" Monfils, H.-T. Lee vs. (2) Safin, Saulnier vs. Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, (4) Gaudio vs. (Q) Christophe "The Roach" Rochus, Zabaleta vs. (3) Henman, Soderling vs. Santoro, (Q) Ascione vs. Beck, (16) Novak vs. Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, (Q) Mantilla vs. (7) Joachim "The Jackhammer" Johansson, (Q) Gasquet vs. (Q) Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez, Schuettler vs. Kiefer in an all-German, Juan Ignacio "The Spitting Snake" Chela vs. Xavier "X-Man" Malisse, Spadea vs. (15) Stepanek, and (Q) Hanescu vs. Calleri.