Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in full swing!
First European clay court tournament of 2016 circuit is underway
The European clay court circuit begins with the third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the season, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. The tournament began on Sunday at the Monte-Carlo Country Club.
Overall, there are 15 of the Top 20 in the 56-player draw. It’s also the first time since 2009 the "Big Four" of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are playing together in Monte-Carlo. As the first tournament on clay it's important for the players to get in some much needed practice on the surface. Coming fresh from victory in the first two Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Miami, even Novak Djokovic needs to put in some time on clay to ensure he is on form.
The Top 10 seeded players will automatically go through to round two of the singles tournament, but in order to get in the extra court time and practice they will quite often take part in the doubles. Today, you can watch Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco take on Philipp Kohlschreiber and Viktor Troicki, whilst Andy Murray and Dominic Inglot battle out the first round against Pablo Cuevas and Marcel Granollers.
As Day Three gets underway on the beautiful clay courts of Monte-Carlo it looks as though Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will have the day off to rest up, warm up and prepare for what lies ahead.
Stay tuned to see the results over the coming week.
