World No. 1 Novak Djokovic makes his 2024 debut on clay on the heels of a disappointing Sunshine Swing, while Sebastian Korda takes on Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. Roman Safiullin
For most other players, a run to the semifinals of the Australian Open would make for a stellar start to the tennis season. Not so for Novak Djokovic, the winningest ATP player of all time. The Serb might still technically be the world No. 1, he hasn’t been anywhere close to the best player on tour. That honor would go to Jannik Sinner and his 22-1 start to the season. Conversely, Djokovic has zero titles…and a wild loss to world No. 123 Luca Nardi in Indian Wells. The 36-year-old elected not to play Miami.
Whether clay will mark the start of his resurgence remains to be seen. Djokovic wasn’t convincing in Melbourne and he was downright diabolical in his semifinal loss to Sinner. Still, Djokovic has been the second-best player on clay for a fair bit of his career and he is as comfortable on the dirt as he is on any court. His first opponent is world No. 41 Roman Safiullin. Expect to see the top seed to shake off some rust in the early goings of this one–but even if Safiullin keeps it close for a set, Djokovic should make his way through.
Cheryl pick: Djokovic in 2
Ricky pick: Djokovic in 2
Sebastian Korda vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Sebastian Korda may be spending some of his free time congratulating sister Nelly on her fourth consecutive LPGA tournament win, but the American will be hoping to grab some headlines of his own this week. His path will not be easy. He starts against the talented (if admittedly inconsistent) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. And if he gets through the first round, Sinner will be waiting in the second.
Still, there’s a decent chance Korda will see his way through this match. First, Korda is one of the few Americans who are actually comfortable on European clay–so it’s not an automatic “walkover” when he has to play a Spaniard in the early rounds. Second, Davidovich Fokina just hasn’t been playing very well of late. He has an anemic 8-7 record this year. We should see better form from the Spaniard since he is moving to his most successful surface, but this is a winnable match for Korda.
Cheryl pick: Korda in 3
Ricky pick: Korda in 3
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