– Action on three fronts as the clay-court season gets seriously under way – a 500 in Barcelona with a 48-player draw (but no Carlos Alcaraz, and Rafael Nadal TBA), and 250s in Munich and Bucharest. The Bucharest tournament, named the Tiriac Open for you-know-who, was Novak Djokovic’s Serbia Open. The license had always been owned by Tiriac, who leased it to the Djokovic for a few years but wanted it back (or wanted an excessive price to sell it). It had already been moved to Bosnia last year, because Djokovic’s tennis centre was undergoing renovations with an eye to upgrading their event. But ..read more

– The women are back in action this week, after a BJK Cup week last week meant no WTA events. And Félix Auger-Aliassime getting back on the horse after a tough loss in Monte Carlo. We’ll see what Marina Stakusic can do on the European red clay. Denis Shapovalov, who took a short-lived wild card into the Houston clay event, has also taken one into Bucharest. (Not complete) *********************************** BMW Open Munich, Germany (ATP 250)  Singles [5] Félix Auger-Aliassime 1st rd: vs Maximilian Marterer (GER) *********************************** Tiriac Open Bucharest, Romania (ATP 250 ..read more

– If people were hoping that No. 1 and No. 2 would meet in the Monte Carlo final Sunday, well, welcome to tennis. No. 10 Casper Ruud and No. 12 Stefanos Tsitsipas were on form. No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Jannik Sinner were less than that. And the result was a pair of surprise three-set wins, and a great opportunity for both of then to pick off a Masters 1000 to kick off the clay-court season. (Monte Carlo is six hours ahead of EDT) ********************************** Rolex Monte Carlo Masters Location: Monte Carlo, Monaco Surface: Outdoor Clay Category: ATP 1000 Dates: April 7 – 14, 2024 Pr ..read more

– The top two seeds – and two of the recent top players who are redoubtable on clay in Stefanos Tsitsipa and Casper Ruud, are the singles final four in Monte Carlo. Can’t ask for much more than that; despite the withdrawal of Carlos Alcaraz, that’s an impressive final four and there have been impressive performance all week long. But in the end, the hoped-for clash between No. 1 and No. 2 did not materialize. Surprise! (Monte Carlo is six hours ahead of EDT) ********************************** Rolex Monte Carlo Masters Location: Monte Carlo, Monaco Surface: Outdoor Clay Category: ATP 1000 ..read more

– Quarterfinals on both the singles and doubles side in Monte Carlo in Friday, with the draws having worked themselves out into some pretty interesting matchups. Will Holger Rune recover enough from two wins on Thursday – including nearly 3 1/2 hours to beat Grigor Dimitrov – to have enough juice to take on the man of the moment, Jannik Sinner? Almost. (Rune also had doubles later. Busy few days for him. (Monte Carlo is six hours ahead of EDT) ********************************** Rolex Monte Carlo Masters Location: Monte Carlo, Monaco Surface: Outdoor Clay Category: ATP 1000 Dates: April 7 – 14 ..read more

– The University of Kentucky has already become the place young Canadian tennis players head to continue their education – both tennis and in the classroom. And that reputation has only been burnished with the news reported by Parsa Nemati Wednesday, that Ontario brothers Nicolas and Mikael Arseneault have verbally committed to take their talents to the school, and well-regarded coach Cédric Kauffmann. The 17-year-old twins, whose sister Ariana Arseneault has also gone the NCAA Route (via the University of Georgia, and now Auburn) are set to start in the fall of 2025. And as they’re not close ..read more

– Rain ended Wednesday’s session prematurely. So Holger Rune and Grigor Dimitrov had to finish off matches and win them – and then play each other in the third round. That one turned out to be a 3 1/2-hour marathon, which doesn’t leave Rune too fresh for Sinner on Friday. Alexander Zverev, who got into the doubles as an alternate with his pal Marcelo Melo, lost a tough one to Stefanos Tsitsipas, then played his first-round match interrupted after just three games Wednesday. Then beat Ram and Salisbury to make the quarterfinals. Full day’s work. Novak Djokovic looked to build upon an excellent ..read more

– For much of the last year, Félix Auger-Aliassime has preached patience. Both to fans and detractors alike. But also to himself. The Canadian is a thoughtful, deliberate man who likes everything in place, organized and consistent. But the last year or so his career has been anything but that. The 23-year-old was at a career-high No. 6 to start 2023. Coming into this week in Monte Carlo, at the dawn of the clay-court season, he finds himself at No. 35. There’s every possibility that he’ll be unseeded at Roland Garros for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament since the 2019 Australian Open ..read more

– The withdrawal of Carlos Alcaraz was a great break for Félix Auger-Aliassime. But it also meant a serious downgrade in his court assignment. Not Rainier III, Not Court des Princes, not even Court 2. Court 9 was where he took on lucky loser Lorenzo Sonego. And it ended up in another discouraging defeat. Rain came later in the day, disrupting the efforts of both Holger Rune and Grigor Dimitrov. They will have to try to wrap up on Thursday and if both win, they’ll face each other. Defending champion Andrey Rublev became one of the rare winners in recent years to bow out at the first time of ask ..read more

– An impressive Tuesday lineup on the main court, with Wawrinka (vs. De Minaur), Berrettini (vs. Kecmanovic), Djokovic (against Safiullin) and Zverev (vs. Ofner). Korda, Hurkacz vs. Draper, Monfils vs. Jordan Thompson. And the watch on Carlos Alcaraz’s health begins. (Monte Carlo is six hours ahead of EDT) ********************************** Rolex Monte Carlo Masters Location: Monte Carlo, Monaco Surface: Outdoor Clay Category: ATP 1000 Dates: April 7 – 14, 2024 Prize money: €5,950,575 Draws: S56 – D28 Tuesday, April 9, 2024 Results Court Rainier III 1. [11] Alex de Minaur (AUS) def. [WC] Stan ..read more