The top tennis players on the circuit have confirmed their presence at the world’s oldest clay court tournament. The latest edition of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters will take place from 8 to 16 April.
The 116th edition of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters is set to host the biggest names in tennis, including Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Alexander Zverev and defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas. “Most of the top players have already confirmed their presence,” announced David Massey, the new director of the Monegasque tournament, at the traditional press conference held in the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort. Aficionados of the oldest clay court tournament in the world are dreaming of a Nadal–Djokovic duel. It would be a clash of the titans between these two huge tennis stars, each of whom has collected 22 titles in Grand Slam tournaments. Here’s hoping that the clay-court giant (with a record 11 victories at the Monte-Carlo Country Club and 14 at Roland-Garros) recovers from his injuries, and that the Monegasque resident is able to play in Monaco again (his last two wins were in 2013 and 2015).
I Très attendu, Djokovic jouera à domicile. © Direction de la Communication Monaco
The Serb isn’t the only one playing at home. “Around fifteen participants are Monegasque residents, including Dimitrov, Wawrinka and Tsitsipas,” says David Massey. We must also take into account the new generation of players, who are determined to succeed their elders, in the doubles game too: for example, the French finalist of the Australian Open, Hugo Nys, who plays in the Davis Cup for team Monaco.
“Opening a new chapter.”
The new director, a former executive with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), hopes that this edition will be even more successful than the last one, which attracted 131,610 spectators and was watched by more than 76.5 million viewers. “We wanted to open a new chapter in 2023, and gave a lot of thought to the innovations we were keen to introduce.” These include a new graphic charter, a centralised system with LED panel, and a completely redesigned village. Fans will be pleased to know that the tournament is bringing back its traditional children’s day (9 April) along with the Grande Nuit du Tennis, the famous gala evening that has taken place every year since 1992 in the Salle des Étoiles du Sporting Monte-Carlo. This edition should be kicked off by defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, who will be present at the draw held in the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo on 7 April.
By Milena Radoman
