ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo 2023: Who has the edge?

The ATP Masters 1000 event and 2023 Monte Carlo Masters began earlier today, launching the 2023 clay-court swing. While some of the top clay-court talents, such as 11 time winner and #14 Rafael Nadal, and #2 Carlos Alcaraz will be absent due to injury, the tournament still has tons to offer. Who will come out on top? Will Stefanos Tsitsipas win for the third straight year? Find out everything you need to below.

Top Three Candidates

1. #3 Stefanos Tsitsipas

It’s well known that Tsitsipas has emerged as a true clay-court player. In his last 52, he’s went 17-4 in clay-court matches, including last year’s ATP Monte Carlo Masters 1000 titles. The Greek overall #3 should advance quite far again with a favorable draw, and will look to make it three straight titles here in Monaco.

With both Alcaraz and Nadal absent, this presents a great opportunity for the third best performer on clay in the past year.

2. #8 Jannik Sinner

The #1 Italian and #8 Sinner has made at least the semifinals in consecutive Masters 1000 events, with his most recent loss in the Miami Open final to #5 Daniil Medvedev. Yes, those are hard-court tournaments, and Sinner hasn’t played on clay since winning Umag in July 2022, however, his favorable results on clay within the last year, and absence of Carlos Alcaraz, plus a struggling Casper Ruud, put Sinner in the forefront of contention at the moment.

3. #16 Alexander Zverev

Winner of five Masters 1000 events, Zverev hasn’t touched the clay-court swing, since his gruesome injury against Rafael Nadal in the 2022 French Open semi-finals.

That was 10 months ago.

However, as the 2023 year has advanced, so has Zverev’s play. In recent weeks we’ve been treated to some encouraging matches, including his battle with Daniil Medvedev just weeks ago at Indian Wells. With his clay-court experience and hard-hitting abilities, Zverev will no doubt be a contender looking to raise his first Monte Carlo Masters 1000 final, and sixth ever.