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Rafael Nadal late to the party but back in full swing in bid to reclaim clay throne in Monte Carlo


Nadal will return to clay action (Picture: TPN/Getty Images)

Rafael Nadal may have been late to the party, but signs in Monte Carlo suggest he will be at his usual best when he begins his clay-court season this week.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion missed the entire draw ceremony – of which he was meant to be the star attraction – after a heavy downpour of afternoon rain in Monaco scuppered his practice plans.

Eventually, with the sun finally emerging, the Spaniard got out onto Court Rainier III for an afternoon hit and, perhaps unsurprisingly, looked at his sumptuous best on his beloved clay.

The only element of doubt for Nadal heading into the European clay swing was the reemergence of a persistent knee injury at Indian Wells.

While the injury, which reared its ugly head against Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals, robbed the world of a 39th meeting with old nemesis Roger Federer there was a greater concern that it could disrupt his clay-court plans.

‘It’s true the beginning of the season has been a little bit tough for me in terms of physical problems. I went through some hard times, being honest,’ he said.

‘This is always tough accept like when another thing happened in Indian Wells but the only way is to keep going, keep trying with passion and even if sometimes it’s tough to accept and tough to wake up again and stand up again and try to be back.

‘Here I am and I had these couple of days, hopefully I start on Wednesday so I have a few days to practice.’

This is the time of the year when Nadal shines brightest. But after withdrawing from the Miami Open, it felt as if he was in a race against time to be fully fit to defend the 4,680 points he amassed in 2018.

On today’s evidence, however, it appears the Spaniard has won that race and will, as ever, be the man to beat in the dirt.

‘For me, it is the most comfortable tournament of the year in terms of everything,’ he added.

Nadal has won the Monte Carlo Masters on 11 occasions (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

‘The organisation, the facilities, everything is so easy so I feel a little bit at home. The beautiful Mediterranean sea just in front, I come from an island so I appreciate it more. I’m very happy to be back.

‘When I talk about comfortable, I don’t speak about tennis. I mean normal life. It’s one of the most important events for me of the year without a doubt so for me to start well here means a lot and gives me a lot of confidence to keep going.

‘When I play this tournament, I only think about this tournament and nothing else.’

While Nadal was late to the draw – something he was very apologetic for – one other prominent figure was present.

Recently ousted ATP chief Chris Kermode was a member of the audience and later posed with Nadal – one of his main backers during a tumultuous few months on the men’s tour.

Nadal posed with Kermode (Picture: George Bellshaw)

Every photoshoot with the British administrator will inevitably be somewhat awkward given the ATP player board’s decision to not extend his contract – a decision that has been widely condemned by those behind the scenes.

While some lower-ranked players expressed their support of the decision at last week’s Mouratoglou Open, others aimed thinly veiled digs at player council president Novak Djokovic.

‘Certain players are just thinking about lining their pockets,’ one well established coach said.

An insider at the ATP expressed – perhaps optimistically – their hope that there would be a route back for Kermode. That may well prove to be wishful thinking.

Djokovic was, however, defended by compatriot Janko Tipsarevic on the Tennis Podcast.

‘This guy is so forgiving and he is helping so many people in his circle,’ he said. ‘His message was translated in a completely bull**** way. That he was the main guy who wanted to change Chris because he ruined tennis, it is completely not true.

Tipsarevic spoke out (Picture: Getty Images)

‘But in the media, he was portrayed especially when Rafa and Roger said they didn’t agree with him, he was portrayed as this guy who was changing Chris and leading the opposition which was basically never his intention.

‘Novak is really serious about this role as players president, which is against my advice. This is a very difficult role, there were players in the past, I won’t name names, that were in this position just to be the president. But they weren’t even 10% invested into everyday issues like Novak is.

‘In my opinion, he got a little bit disappointed because he was trying to do so much good for tennis but in the end, he was portrayed as this villain who kicked out Chris from the ATP.’

Views continue to conflict on this matter. Another ATP source denied it was the case that Djokovic is ‘championing’ the lower-ranked players and pointed to Kermode’s record in terms of increasing prize money and providing support to lower-ranked players through travel grants and hospitality at Challenger level.

Returning to on-court action, Djokovic will be hoping to make a dent in old foe Nadal’s dominance in Monte Carlo, with the Spaniard chasing a 12th title this week.

The pair are in opposite ends of the draw but the Serb was handed the unfortunate spectre of last year’s French Open runner-up Dominic Thiem in the draw.

Djokovic could face Thiem (Picture: Getty Images)

Thiem is the only man to defeat Nadal on clay in the past two years – and has enjoyed three victories in total against the world No. 2 on the ground down brick. He also defeated Djokovic at this very venue last year.

He looked in good shape as he trained on one of the indoor practice arenas at the Monte Carlo Country Club on Friday afternoon, hitting with his usual ferocity and vigour.

Another potential opponent for Djokovic is Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been training at the Mouratoglou Academy in Nice this week.

Australian Open semi-finalist Tsitsipas enjoyed a run to the final of the Barcelona Open on clay last season and will pose a serious threat to anyone in his path.

Such is the level of focus in his practice sessions that the young Athenian berated himself while walking around in circles during a practice session on Thursday morning, branding himself as ‘lazy, lazy, lazy’ for dumping a sliced backhand into the net.

Another player training at Mouratoglou was French No. 1 Lucas Pouille. He has been handed a testing opener against Stan Wawrinka in what is the pick of the first-round ties.

The Swiss is one of just three winners – along with Nadal and Djokovic – of this tournament sincce 2004 and will be desperate to recapture his best form on his favourite surface this week.

British No. 1 Kyle Edmund, meanwhile, saw his first-round opponent changed after the draw.

Originally scheduled to face Dusan Lajovic, he will now take on Diego Schwartzman following Gael Monfils’ withdrawal from the event.





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