Three Spanish players booked opening wins Monday at the Monte Carlo Masters as clay king Rafael Nadal prepared to try and extend an historic win streak at the venue.
Ninth seed Nicolas Almagro led the way for Iberians with his defeat of compatriot Marcelo Granollers 6-3, 6-3 while Daniel Gimeno-Traver put out Colombian Santiago Giraldo 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 Tommy Robredo, playing for the first time in almost a month after an injury at Indian Wells, took a win over rising Croatian Ivan Dodig 6-4, 6-2.
Nadal will begin in the second round against Jarkko Nieminen, who beat Julien Benneteau of France 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).
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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 12th seed, led compatriot Richard Gasquet into the second round. Tsonga put out Argentine Juan Monaco 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 while number 13 Gasquet bet Uzbek Denis Istomin, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 Croatian 15th seed Marin Cilic won his first match since mid-March, defeating Italy’s Filippo Volandri 6-2, 6-1.
Nadal, who is bidding for a seventh consecutive title at the scenic Country Club overlooking the Mediterranean, was reluctant to make predictions on his chances of success.
But the five-time French Open champion said each year is different once the clay campaign begins.
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“This is one of my favourite tournaments of the world,” said a player whose record is a phenomenal 34-1 at the venue with his only loss coming in the third round in his first appearance in 2003.
Since then he’s reeled off 32 straight match wins and is the only player in the post-1968 Open era to win six straight titles in any event.
“It’s fantastic to play here, but I need some days to adjust to the clay, I’ve not been on it for almost a year. I need to remember what to do, what shots to make, how to play on it.” While the winning instincts might be natural to the most successful clay player ever, that’s not how Nadal sees it. In fact, he relies on videotapes of his past matches to speed up the adaptation process each spring.
“I watch the videos to remember what to do to,” he confessed. “I watch my matches here from the last few years it helps on how to play the points.” The Spaniard also knows his world number one status is under threat from both number two Novak Djokovic - an undefeated 24-0 this season and winner over Nadal in Masters 1000 finals last month at Indian Wells and Miami - and Swiss Roger Federer.
With four clay trophies to defend starting this week, Nadal is not sure how well he can rise to the occasion again.
“We will see if it is possible to win all the clay events. I’m only focusing on the first match, I don’t look any farther ahead,” said the man who will face either Frenchman Julien Benneteau or Jarkko Nieminen of Finland. “But I don’t feel unbeatable, I know I can lose.”
Andy Murray, the fourth seed fighting to escape a slump which has cost him losses in his last four matches dating to January, said he was content with his training on clay in the principality. But a training session set for Tuesday with Nadal should prove beneficial.
The Scot said that while he has yet to choose a permanent coach, he will be working with top talent-spotter and mentor Darren Cahill of Australia for the Masters 1000 clay events next month in Madrid and Rome and will drill with the Australian who once coached Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt during the week prior to the start of the French Open.