The clay swing is underway in Estoril and Marrakech, and the stakes are about to go up a notch; the 2024 Monte Carlo Masters draw is out, and main draw action at the third Masters 1000 of the season commences on Sunday, 7th April.
Pre-tournament, the big but somewhat expected news is that 11-time champion Rafael Nadal will be unable to compete as his injury woes continue to keep him sidelined.
After skipping Miami, Novak Djokovic is back as the top seed, and he’ll look to hit the ground running after plenty of preparation at the Baseline Teniski Klub in Belgrade.
The Serb finds himself in the same half as Carlos Alcaraz, meaning the two could meet in the semi-finals.
The second seed, Jannik Sinner, heads up the bottom half of the draw along with Medvedev and Zverev.
Looking at the draw, I prefer the 56 draw sizes for M1000 events compared to the larger fields that are now commonplace—they produce way better matches early on, and the tournament flows much better.
Below is the full draw and a quick look at the potential paths to the final for the pre-tournament favourites.
Tournament Info
Event Name: Rolex Monte Carlo Masters
Founded: 1896
Location: Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France
Venue: Monte Carlo Country Club, 155 Av. Princesse Grace, 06190 Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France
Surface: Outdoor Clay Court
Ball: Dunlop ATP Ball
Current Men’s Champions: Andrey Rublev
Current Men’s Doubles Champions: Ivan Dodig / Austin Krajicek
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Draw Size: 56 Singles / 28 Qualifying / 28 Doubles
Dates: 7-14 April 2024
Prize Money: €5,950,575 – Full Monte Carlo Masters 2024 prize money breakdown.
Rolex Monte Carlo Monsters 2024 Seeds
Novak Djokovic
Jannik Sinner
Carlos Alcaraz
Daniil Medvedev
Alexander Zverev
Andrey Rublev
Holger Rune
Casper Ruud
Grigor Dimitrov
Hubert Hurkacz
Alex de Minaur
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Taylor Fritz
Ugo Humbert
Karen Khachanov
Alexander Bublik
2024 Rolex Monte Carlo Masters Draw
Top Half
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Bye
Roman Safiullin vs. Qualifier
Arthur Fils vs. Adrian Mannarino
Lorenzo Musetti vs. Taylor Fritz (13)
Alex de Minaur (11) vs. Stan Wawrinka (WC)
Dominik Koepfer vs. Tallon Griekspoor
Alexei Popyrin vs. Qualifier
Bye vs. Andrey Rublev (6)
Carlos Alcaraz (3) vs. Bye
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Qualifier
Zhizhen Zhang vs. Marcos Giron
Qualifier vs. Ugo Humbert (14)
Hubert Hurkacz (10) vs. Jack Draper
Jiri Lehecka vs. Qualifier
Alejandro Tabilo vs. Qualifier
Bye vs. Casper Ruud (8)
Bottom Half
Alexander Zverev (5) vs. Bye
Daniel Evans vs. Sebastian Ofner
Nicolas Jarry vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Laslo Djere vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (12)
Karen Khachanov (15) vs. Cameron Norrie
Francisco Cerundolo vs. Qualifier
Gael Monfils (WC) vs. Jordan Thompson
Bye vs. Daniil Medvedev (4)
Holger Rune (7) vs. Bye
Matteo Arnaldi vs. Emil Ruusuvuori
Miomir Kecmanovic vs. Matteo Berrettini (WC)
Valentin Vacherot (WC) vs. Grigor Dimitrov (9)
Alexander Bublik (16) vs. Borna Coric
Jan-Lennard Struff vs. Sebastian Baez
Sebastian Korda vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Bye vs. Jannik Sinner (2)
Full PDF printable draw.
Thoughts on the Draw
With all the fanfare surrounding Jannik Sinner as the best player in the world, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that Novak Djokovic is still world number one and enters Monte Carlo as the top seed.
Monte Carlo hasn’t been one of Djokovic’s best tournaments, but he’s still won it twice. He will begin against Roman Safiullin or a qualifier in the second round.
Last year, the Serb came a cropper to Lorenzo Musetti, and the two could face off again this year in the third round should the Italian overcome 13th seed Taylor Fritz in his opening round and either Arthur Fils or Adrian Mannarino in the second.
Defending champion Andrey Rublev is Novak’s seeded quarter-final opponent. The Russian starts against the heavy-hitting Alexei Popyrin, which is not easy. He’ll need to up his game from the Sunshine Double, which yielded just one win.
Djokovic’s Path to the Final
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Roman Safiullin / Qualifier
Round 3: Taylor Fritz / Lorenzo Musetti
Quarterfinal: Andrey Rublev / Alex de Minaur
Semifinal: Carlos Alcaraz / Casper Ruud
Final: Jannik Sinner / Daniil Medvedev / Alexander Zverev
Carlos Alcaraz is making just his second appearance at the Monte Carlo Country Club. He starts against Felix Auger-Aliassime or a qualifier.
That would have sounded tricky a few years back, but Felix has been taking retrograde steps since last season.
The Spaniard is seeded to meet Dubai champion Ugo Humbert in the third round and Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals before a potential showdown with Djokovic.
I think if Alcaraz plays less highlight-reel mode tennis and instead mixes in a more Nadal-like mentality, he’ll have a dominant clay-court swing this summer and will be able to close the gap to Sinner, who is somewhat unproven on la Terre battue.
Alcaraz’s Path to the Final
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Felix Auger-Aliassime / Qualifier
Round 3: Ugo Humbert / Zhizhen Zhang
Quarterfinal: Casper Ruud / Hubert Hurkacz
Semifinal: Novak Djokovic / Andrey Rublev
Final: Jannik Sinner / Daniil Medvedev / Alexander Zverev
In the bottom half of the draw, Jannik Sinner is the 2nd seed, and he’ll be looking to continue his incredible season with titles in Melbourne, Rotterdam and Miami that have seen him rack up a 22-1 Win/Loss record.
Sinner’s opening match is against either 2022 finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Sebastian Korda. In the third round, he is slated to meet the 16th seed, Alexander Bublik, and could potentially face last year’s finalist, Holger Rune, in the quarter-finals.
Rune will begin his tournament against either Matteo Arnaldi or Emil Ruusuvuori. Both are capable foes on their day, with Arnaldi particularly dangerous on the clay.
Sinner’s Path To the Final
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Sebastian Korda / Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Round 3: Alexander Bublik / Jan-Lennard Struff / Sebastian Baez
Quarterfinal: Holger Rune / Grigor Dimitrov
Semifinal: Daniil Medvedev / Alexander Zverev / Stefanos Tsitsipas
Final: Novak Djokovic / Carlos Alcaraz
Daniil Medvedev, the fourth seed, and Alexander Zverev, the fifth seed, could potentially face Sinner in the semi-finals.
In the second round, Medvedev will face either Jordan Thompson or the French wildcard, Gael Monfils, whereas Zverev will face Daniel Evans or Sebastian Ofner. Evans will have a tough opening round, as Ofner has a pedigree on clay and is probably the slight favourite.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, a two-time Monte-Carlo champion and the 12th seed, is also in this half and will start his tournament against Laslo Djere.
Given his recent form and dropping outside the top 10, the clay season looks make-or-break, so it will be worth watching him closely.
Interesting First-Round Matches
The 56-player draw format means fans can look forward to some high-quality matchups from the very first round, and here is the pick of them:
Arthur Fils vs Adrian Mannarino
Lorenzo Musetti vs Taylor Fritz (13)
Alex de Minaur (11) vs Stan Wawrinka (12)
Hubert Hurkacz (10) vs Jack Draper
Karen Khachanov (15) vs Cameron Norrie
Alexander Bublik (16) vs Borna Coric
Jan-Lennard Struff vs Sebastian Baez
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Sebastian Korda
Who is your pick for the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters title? How will Djokovic fare without a coach? Let me know in the comments.