Monte Carlo Masters predictions: Tsitsipas value to retain his crown

Free tennis tips, best bets and analysis for this week's event, the Monte Carlo Masters, which starts on Sunday.

Where to watch

Live on Amazon Prime, from 9am Sunday

Best bets

Stefanos Tsitsipas
1pt each-way 8-1 Betfred

Casper Ruud
0.5pt each-way 20-1 Betfred

Tournament preview

The Monte Carlo Masters is missing its star attraction in 11-time champion Rafael Nadal, but the much-anticipated return of world number one Novak Djokovic goes some way to making up for the King of Clay’s absence.

The Serb has been forced to miss all the big gigs in 2022 due to the coronavirus laws in Australia and America and, as a result, is making only his second appearance of the year.

Djokovic’s sole start came at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February, when he suffered a quarter-final exit at the hands of Jiri Vesely.

Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem and Matteo Berrettini have also withdrawn from the Monte Carlo draw but, even so, there are plenty of reasons to be taking on the top seed.

Not only is Djokovic at his most vulnerable on clay, but he has failed to go beyond the quarter-final stage in Monte Carlo since his 2015 title triumph and a lack of match sharpness must also be of concern.

Throw in the fact that he is housed in the same quarter of the draw as rising Spanish star Carlos Alacaraz, who won the Miami Open last week, and there has to be value in looking elsewhere.

The obvious starting point is with defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, who soared to the title last season without dropping a set.

The Greek star has been battling with an elbow injury since the end of last year but some strong recent results suggest the issue is improving and this is his surface.

Tsitsipas made the Australian Open semi-finals earlier this season and his latest two efforts on this slower surface at the French Open have delivered a run to the last four and a final.

The third seed has also landed in the softest quarter of the draw given Felix Auger-Aliassime has plenty to prove on this terrain.

If over his injury, Tsitsipas should come through that section relatively comfortably and would be fancied to have the measure of Alexander Zverev or Andrey Rublev, his final victim of 12 months ago, in the last four.

Another fascinating contender is Norwegian ace Casper Ruud, who is also at his happiest on clay.

The 23-year-old showed himself to be in good form when reaching the recent Miami Open final and although beaten by Alcaraz that day, this surface gives him a decent chance of exacting revenge.

Ruud is a seven-time winner on the ATP Tour and six of those title wins have come on clay, including in Buenos Aires earlier this year. At 20-1, he is also worthy of each-way interest.

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