ATP Monte Carlo: Tournament Preview & US Players to Watch Out For
by Bradley Gibbs | by Bradley Gibbs
Monte Carlo’s Greek God Back Again
In general, high-profile glory has eluded Stefanos Tsitsipas, but the man currently ranked eighth in the world is certainly no stranger to bringing the heat in Monte Carlo. In fact, he’s been something of a Greek god around these parts in recent years, winning not one, not two, but three of the last four renewals.
In 2021, Tsitsipas defeated Andrey Rublev to lift his first Monte-Carlo Masters trophy, before retaining that trophy with a straight-set win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the 2022 final. After surrendering the title in 2023, the Greek player got his name on the prize for a third time in 2024, beating Casper Ruud, securing his third straight-set final win at this venue in four seasons.
Seeded sixth this time around, Tsitipas is back for yet another bite of the Monte-Carlo cherry, attempting to defend his title for a third time. He couldn’t make it four wins since 2021, could he?
Other previous winners of this tournament set to be involved this week are Novak Djokovic, who is a two-time Monte Carlo Masters victor, getting the job done in 2013 and 2015. Suprise 2019 winner Fabio Fognini will also be involved as a wildcard, while world number nine Andrey Rublev, who landed the spoils back in 2023, will be the fourth Monte Carlo winner to take his place in the main draw.
US Players to Watch Out For
Tsitsipas is one of several top European players to come into this tournament with hopes of going far, and let’s be honest, it is very easy to see this going the way of one of Europe’s finest.
However, there’s still a reasonably strong US presence. Five Americans have made the main draw in Monte-Carlo, including the explosive Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe, who can cause problems for anybody on tour, as we’ve seen in the last few days.
US players playing in Monte Carlo this week (including current ATP rank and tournament seed):
Marcos Giron - Unseeded, current ATP rank = 46
Sebastian Korda - Unseeded, current ATP rank = 25
Ben Shelton - 11th seed, current ATP rank = 14
Brandon Nakashima - Unseeded, current ATP rank = 33
Frances Tiafoe - 14th seed, current ATP rank = 17
With no Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz involved, the US charge isn’t as strong as it could be this week, and it must be said that the players involved don’t exactly arrive with the strongest tournament credentials.
Brandon Nakashima and Frances Tiafoe, who is in form following his very recent efforts in Houston, will be playing in this tournament for the first time. Ben Shelton exited in the first round when playing in the event for the first and only time in 2023, while Marcos Giron lost in the first round in each of his previous two appearances.
Sebastian Korda has fared a little better on the Monte Carlo clay, reaching the third round in 2022, where he was defeated by Taylor Fritz. While last year, he was unlucky to face Jannik Sinner in the second round, losing in straight sets.
In other words, although the five guys flying the flag for the US are all very capable players, it’s not overly easy to see any level of American dominance this week, let’s be honest.
Finding Value
Is there a value bet ahead of this rather prestigious event? World number two Carlos Alcaraz is the hot favorite ahead of this week’s action in Monte Carlo. Is he the right favorite? Given that the four-time Grand Slam winner is a very strong clay-court player, winning eight previous ATP titles on this surface, he clearly warrants lots of respect, though I’d argue that he may be a little too short. After all, it’s a strong field this week, while the Spaniard lost in the second round last year. In other words, we can look to oppose him in our search for value.
As touched on above, Stefanos Tsitsipas has won three of the last four renewals of this tournament, which is incredibly hard to overlook, especially with odds of +800 on offer.
Let’s be serious for a minute, the Greek player has a clear fondness for the Monte Carlo Masters and he clearly thrives on the Monte Carlo clay, so I really am questioning whether odds of +800 are a touch generous?. The world number eight doesn’t only have a connection with this event, but he arrives in decent form having recently secured a title in Dubai. All things considered, +800 is worth taking by those looking for a slither of value.
