A new King of Clay?
by Steve Ashfield | by Steve Ashfield
A Changing of the Guard?
The 2023 Men's European Clay Court season is going to be an exciting period in men's tennis. We've had the Australian Open and the Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami, now it's time to get on the clay courts in the lead up to the 2023 French Open at Roland Garros that begins on May 28.
Carlos Alcaraz will be one of the players fancied to do well in the coming weeks. He missed the start of the year due to injury but has won two titles since his return. That includes a clay court triumph in Buenos Aires and then losing the final in Rio, playing Cameron Norrie (one to look out for) on both occasions. The 19-year-old Spaniard may be the heir apparent to the title of King of clay. 2023 could well be the year that he claims that title as his own. Of his eight tournament victories, five have come on clay including winning in both Barcelona and Madrid last year. He's going to be tough to beat in the coming weeks but not just yet as he won't be playing in Monte Carlo.
My Turn Now?
Only once has Novak Djokovic won the title at Roland Garros. That was in 2021 and he's lost in four finals. He's likely to be the favourite to win a second title this year. He's already won two titles this year (including the Australian Open) and only Daniil Medvedev has beaten him in 2023.
The Serb last failed to reach the last eight in Roland Garros 14 years ago. In the Masters tournaments that lead up to the French Open, Djokovic has won a total of 11 titles in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome. In all, he's won 18 titles on clay but isn't as dominant on this surface as he is on grass or hard courts.
Not Yet Ready to Lose the Throne?
After an incredible 14 title victories at Roland Garros, it's never easy to write off the chances of Rafael Nadal. The King of Clay may not be ready to give up that title just yet but he faces a tough battle to hang on to his crown.
The big problem that the 36-year-old (37 in June) has is battling all the injuries he's picked up in his career. Nadal has been off court since losing in the second round of the Australian Open. He's already withdrawn from the Monte Carlo Masters that takes place next week. All of this is going to affect his preparations for Roland Garros.
Another problem for Nadal is his world ranking. He's slipped down to 14th and may be even lower if he doesn't start playing soon. That will result in some tough draws for the Spaniard with the top seeds being met much earlier in tournaments. The crown is slipping and might just fall off soon.
Rune Among the Clay Court Contenders
Another 19-year-old out to become the King of Clay is Holger Rune. He turns 20 on April 29 and the Dane is up to eighth in the world rankings. This time last year he was only 91st but won three titles last year, including the Paris Masters. One clay court title was won in Munich and the next time he heads to Paris, he'll hope to go deep at Roland Garros. Last year saw him make his debut in the French Open and he reached the last eight losing to Casper Ruud who went on to lose in the final.
Ruud is another player to keep an eye on in the coming weeks. He won three clay court titles last year and four in 2021. He's not had the best of years so far but a return to clay may well see his form improve dramatically.
The first Masters event of the European Clay Court season is in Monte Carlo. Stefanos Tsitsipas will be bidding to win the title for the third successive year. The world number three has only won three clay court tournaments on the ATP Tour, the other being in Estoril four years ago. The Greek did reach the Roland Garros final two years ago but hasn't been in the best of form so far this year.
Who else to consider? Well, there's Cameron Norrie who won a title in South America earlier this year. Daniil Medvedev has been in excellent form this year but has never won an ATP Tour clay court event and reached just one final in Barcelona four years ago. Jannik Sinner has reached the last eight in Paris and recently won the Miami Master hard court event.
Andrey Rublev is never one to rule out and beat Novak Djokovic in Serbia last year to win a title. It's going to be a fascinating European Clay Court season, follow all the action on Sportytrader.
