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Indian Wells champ Fritz also in top quarter
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic returns to action at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, but the two-time champion will have to negotiate a difficult path if he wants to add a third Monte-Carlo title to his collection following the release of the draw Friday.

The 34-year-old could face #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in a blockbuster quarter-final at the ATP Masters 1000 event, with Indian Wells titlist Taylor Fritz also in his quarter. A potential Monte-Carlo rematch with Daniel Evans looms in the third round, one year after the Briton upset Djokovic in the fourth round in Monaco — though Evans must first navigate an opening-round meeting with 14th seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

Djokovic, who opens against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or American Marcos Giron, has never played Alcaraz, who arrives in Monte-Carlo high in confidence following his title run at the Miami Open presented by Itau. The eighth seed is making his debut at the clay-court event and will begin against Sebastian Korda or Botic van de Zandschulp. Alcaraz is 18-2 on the season, having also triumphed on clay in Rio de Janeiro.

American Fritz earned the biggest title of his career when he ended Rafael Nadal's unbeaten start to the season to win the trophy in California last month. The 10th seed will play wild card Lucas Catarina in the first round, with French wild card Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Croatian Marin Cilic awaiting next.

In the bottom half of the draw, reigning champion Stefanos Tsitsipas will start his title defence against Italian former champ Fabio Fognini or Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, with Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime seeded to meet the Greek in the quarter-finals.

Third seed Tsitsipas downed Andrey Rublev to clinch his maiden Masters 1000 crown last year and will be aiming to regain top form this week after losing to Alcaraz in the fourth round in Miami at the end of March.

Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime has won just one match since he clinched the title in Rotterdam and reached the final in Marseille at the end of February. The sixth seed, who is making his fourth appearance in Monte-Carlo, will play #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti or Benoit Paire in his opening match. Musetti flourished on clay last season, advancing to the semi-finals in Lyon, before he advanced to the fourth round at Roland Garros.

Second seed Alexander Zverev is in the same half of the draw as Tsitsipas and the same quarter as Rublev. The German could face the returning Stan Wawrinka in the third round if Zverev can overcome Federico Delbonis or a qualifier and Wawrinka can pass tests against Alexander Bublik and then Pablo Carreno Busta or a qualifier in the second round.

Former World No. 3 Wawrinka lifted the trophy in Monte-Carlo in 2014, but has not competed at a tour-level event since Doha last March. In a stacked bottom quarter, Italian Jannik Sinner will also pose a danger, with the ninth seed opening against Croatian Borna Coric. The 20-year-old, who has reached three tour-level quarter-finals in 2022, is seeded to meet Rublev in the last eight, with the 24-year-old opening against Australian Alex de Minaur or a qualifier.

Fourth seed Casper Ruud is in the top half of the draw and is a potential semi-finalist opponent for Djokovic. The Norwegian has captured six ATP 250 titles on clay and reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final last week in Miami. Ruud, who reached the Monte-Carlo and Madrid semi-finals last season, will begin his campaign against Aslan Karatsev or a qualifier and may play seventh seed Cameron Norrie or Pole Hubert Hurkacz in the last eight.

Norrie, who climbed into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time on Monday, will open against Tallon Griekspoor or Albert Ramos-Vinolas, while Hurkacz faces dynamic Frenchman Gael Monfils.

Djokovic and Wawrinka also hit together on Thursday
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will be aiming to capture his third Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title this week when he returns to the Tour in Monaco.

However, before the serious business starts on Sunday, the top seed joined former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in the Casino Square, where the pair competed in an entertaining mini-match in front of an excitable crowd.

Djokovic and Wawrinka hit trick shots, posed for photos and chatted with each other as they delighted the fans in Monte-Carlo with their array of skills.

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/stan ... view'>Stan Wawrinka</a>/<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/nova ... iew'>Novak Djokovic</a>
Photo Credit: Stephane Danna/Monte-Carlo

The singles stars arrived at the Monte-Carlo Country Club earlier this week and trained together on Thursday on Court Rainier III ahead of the third ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season.

Djokovic lifted the trophy on the clay in Monte-Carlo in 2013 and 2015 and is competing in just his second event of the season here after reaching the quarter-finals in Dubai in February.

Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Wawrinka arrives at the clay-court tournament having not played at a tour-level event since last March due to injury. The former World No. 3 triumphed in Monte-Carlo in 2014 and accepted a wild card into the draw.

Djokovic will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Marcos Giron in his first match and could meet #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in a blockbuster quarter-final clash. Wawrinka is in the bottom quarter of the draw and will open against Alexander Bublik.

An executive summary of what every fan should know about the coming week
The ATP Tour's European clay-court swing will open in style with the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the season's third ATP Masters 1000 event and its first on clay.

Two-time champion Novak Djokovic, back at World No. 1, will lead the field in his first competitive action since Dubai in February. Defending champ Stefanos Tsitsipas is seeking his first title of 2022, while Miami champ Carlos Alcaraz looks to build on the biggest title of his young career.

1) Djokovic Returns For Second ATP Tour Event of 2022: After a Dubai quarter-final loss saw him cede the top spot in the ATP Rankings, Djokovic enters Monte-Carlo back at World No. 1. But his status as top seed did not hand him an easy draw: He could face Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, and could see 14th seed Roberto Bautista Agut or Daniel Evans in the third round, with the Brit ending his 2021 Monte-Carlo run in the last 16 one year ago.

On Monday, Djokovic will begin his 365th week atop the ATP Rankings, extending his own record. The 34-year-old lifted the Monte-Carlo title in 2013 and 2015, and holds a 35-12 record at the Monaco event.

2) Tsitsipas Seeded Third For Title Defense: Tsitsipas' 2021 Monte-Carlo title began a purple patch for the Greek on the red clay. After claiming the trophy without dropping a set, he reached the Barcelona final, won the title in Lyon and reached his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros.

All seven of Tsitsipas' tour-level titles have come in Europe, as did his best ATP Tour result of the 2022 season to date — a final run in Rotterdam. He enters Monte-Carlo after posting a 3-2 record in Indian Wells and Miami, his fourth-round loss to Alcaraz in South Florida standing out as one of the matches of the young season. The Greek will open against a qualifier in Monaco.

3) Alcaraz Back On The Clay: The 18-year-old Spaniard grew up on clay courts, but after he blitzed to a 10-1 record in reaching the Indian Wells semi-finals and winning his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami, many wondered if hard courts might suit his game best.

"All I can say is I've got two titles on clay and one on hard court," Alcaraz said. "I feel very comfortable in both surfaces, so I don't mind playing on clay or on hard court."

His two clay titles came in Umag last July and Rio de Janeiro in February, and he carries a career-high ATP Ranking of World No. 11 into Monte-Carlo. Seeded eighth in Monaco, he could face a third-round showdown with Indian Wells champ Taylor Fritz ahead of a potential quarter-final against Djokovic.


4) Zverev Seeks Monte-Carlo Breakthrough: Alexander Zverev is a five-time ATP Masters 1000 champion, including three titles on European red clay. The German World No. 3's best Monte-Carlo result came in 2018, when he reached the semi-finals. He holds an 8-5 record at the event, but is 2-2 in his last two appearances, bowing out in the last 16 each time.

Zverev's best result of 2022 came when he reached the Montpellier final, where he lost to first-time ATP Tour champ Alexander Bublik. He enters the European clay swing off of a quarter-final showing in Miami.

5) Ruud To Back Up Surprise Miami Final: Casper Ruud surprised himself by reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 title on the Miami hard courts. Now back on his favoured clay, the fourth seed will look to improve upon his Monte-Carlo semi-final run one year ago. He also reached the Madrid semis in 2021.

Six of Ruud's seven ATP Tour titles have come on clay, though he is still seeking his first Masters 1000 trophy. After a first-round bye, the Norwegian could face Aslan Karatsev in the second round.

6) Top 10 Seeds Can Add To Trophy Count: In addition to Alcaraz, four other Top 10 seeds enter Monte-Carlo with at least one 2022 ATP Tour title to their name: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Andrey Rublev, Cameron Norrie and Taylor Fritz.

Both Alcaraz and Rublev have two titles on the season. They join three-time titlist Rafael Nadal as the only multiple-trophy winners on the year in singles, with the Spaniard set to miss out on Monte-Carlo with a rib stress fracture.


7) Wild Cards Wawrinka, Tsonga Add Intrigue: Former Top 5 players Stan Wawrinka and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, born 20 days apart, are both ranked outside the Top 200 entering Monte-Carlo. Wawrinka, 37, is making his first ATP Tour appearance in over a year, since Doha last March, following two left-foot surgeries in 2021.

The Swiss, who is also playing doubles with Auger-Aliassime, faces Bublik in the opening round. France's Tsonga, 36, recently announced that he will retire at Roland Garros next month. The Frenchman will open against Marin Cilic.

#NextGenATP Stars In Action: In addition to Alcaraz, Italians Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti will lead the way for the younger generation in Monte-Carlo.

Ninth seed Sinner faces Borna Coric in the opening round, while Musetti takes on Benoit Paire. Sinner, 20, is making his second Monte-Carlo appearance after a second-round showing in his 2021 debut. Musetti, also 20, is seeking his first win in Monaco after a first-round exit in his debut last season.

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9) Fognini Defending ATP Ranking Points: While Fabio Fognini is no longer the defending champion in Monte-Carlo, he is defending 500 ATP Ranking points from his 2019 title run — 50 per cent of the initial 1,000 points he earned as champion. Those 500 points represent 37 per cent of the World No. 32 Italian's ranking points.

10) Ram/Salisbury Lead Doubles Draw: Joe Salisbury rose to the top of the ATP Rankings for the first time following his run to the Indian Wells quarter-finals with longtime partner Rajeev Ram. The pairing has been rewarded with the top seed in Monte-Carlo as it seeks a first ATP Tour title of 2022. Croatia's Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic follow as the second seeds, after Pavic lost his World No. 1 ranking to the Briton.

A number of singles stars are also in the Monte-Carlo draw. In addition to the Auger-Aliassime/Wawrinka partnership, the likes of Zverev, Tsitsipas, Rublev and Fritz also feature, as well as the high-powered pairing of Hubert Hurkacz and Sinner.