Rafael Nadal has done it again, again, again, again and now again. The Spaniard successfully defended his Monte-Carlo title for the fifth time, a tournament record. He beat Novak Djokovic 6-3 2-6 6-1 to win his fifth-consecutive title after 2 hours and 43 minutes of play. The Serb did something that no one has done since Roger Federer in 2006, which is to take a set from the clay-court king in the tournament.

In the first set, Djokovic jumped out to a 3-1 lead. Nadal then went on a five-game streak to take the set. After Djokovic called the trainer in game seven at 3-4 and then lost three-consecutive games, it looked like it was going to be another dominant performance by the Spaniard. Djokovic stepped up his game and had the Spaniard on his heels. The Serb secured a double break from the Spaniard and then cruised to take the set.

Nadal went back to business in the final set and wore down the Serb. He won the first-two games which were hard fought. Djokovic then broke Nadal in game three to get onto serve, but Nadal buttoned down the hatches and won the next five games to secure his fifth title in Monte-Carlo.

Though he lost, Djokovic should be proud of his game because this is his best performance since his win in Rome last year. It’s good to see him back in the mix. This was also the Serb's second-consecutive Masters final.

In doubles, the second-seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic upset the top-seeded Bryan brothers 6-4 6-1 after 47 minutes of play.

Championship Sunday Singles Final
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. 3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) 6-3 2-6 6-1

Doubles Final
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) vs. 2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) 6-4 6-1

(Image: AP)

If you picked Nadal, then you were correct. The poll results are as follows:

50% Nadal - Champion
20% Robredo – Second round exit
10% Simon – Second round exit
10% Federer – Round of 16 exit
10% Almagro – First Round exit

The majority rules and was correct. The majority has picked the correct winner 66% of the time. Its only incorrect pick was Miami where Murray won. The Rome Masters poll will be up next.

Second-seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic ended Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki’s run in Monte-Carlo. They will play top-seeds the Bryan Brothers for the championship.



Saturday’s Results
Singles Semifinals
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. 4 Andy Murray (GBR) 6-2 7-6(4)
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 4-6 6-1 6-3

Doubles Semifinals
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) def. 3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND) 6-7(3) 6-3 14-12
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. N. Djokovic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB) 3-6 6-1 10-5

Championship Sunday
Singles Final
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. 3 Novak Djokovic (SRB)

Doubles Final
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) vs. 2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB)

Sunday’s Order of Play

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Rafael Nadal beat Andy Murray in the second semifinal of the day. He held off the Scotsmen 6-2 7-6(4). Nadal struck first in the second game of the match, but Murray broke back. The Spaniard then struck again. This time he held for 4-1. He cruised to take the first set easily 6-2.

In the second set, Nadal struck first in game four and jumped out to a 5-2 lead before you knew it. Serving for the match, Nadal was broken by Murray to stay in the match. Murray then won another two games to level the set at 5-5. Murray continued to hold on and sent the set to a tiebreak where the Spaniard held off the Scotsman to take the match.

Nadal will now play Novak Djokovic in the final. Nadal leads their matchup 11-4. Djokovic has never beaten Nadal on clay. There is always a first time for everything, but I doubt it will be tomorrow.

Djokovic win and Murray’s loss today allows Murray to chip away another 50 points against the Serb's number-three ranking. If the Serb wins tomorrow, he will buy him some more time to hold onto his position.

Finally, I would like to discuss my current pet peeve in men’s tennis that really has nothing to do with the players. I usually turn the sound off because most of the sportscasters are terrible. American sportscasters are the worst. Actually, Chris Evert is really good, but I guess she has better things to do.

Usually, the Brits and Aussies are mildly tolerable except when it comes to Andy Murray, who is probably the most oversold player that I have ever seen on the men’s side. They had to calm the ridiculousness down when they were overhyping Murray and making ridiculous proclamations at the Australian Open. He lost in the quarterfinals to Fernando Verdasco and then they finally toned it down. Now Murray has won some titles and has really improved on clay, so their ridiculousness went into overdrive today.

We were treated to British sportscasters, Jason Goodall and some other guy, who were completely delusional about reality and making excuses for the impending Murray loss, from his blister to the ball falling out of his pocket (clue, he should take the ball out his pocket, which he did). They kept going on about Murray’s “successes” against Nadal. For the record, Nadal is 6-2 against Murray before the match. A twenty-five percent winning percentage is not success. Murray is a good player and is improving, but Nadal is the best player right now so let him have his time in the sun.

They finally shut up and came back to reality after Nadal went up 4-1 in the first set. While Murray was making his second-set run, they then tried to act like it was the 2008 Wimbledon final. He is the second best player on tour this year, and he SHOULD not be blown off the court. He also SHOULD be trying to take a set from Nadal. There were other gems, but you probably get the point.

I actually like Andy Murray as a player, but this tomFOOLery just turns me off. He would probably have more fans if the Anglo sportscasters would tone it down. Moral to the story, turn off the sound during Andy Murray matches.

(Image: AP/Claude Paris)

Novak Djokovic bested Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6 6-1 6-3. In the opening set, the two went toe-to-toe from the baseline, and the Swiss got the better of the two players. After four break points, Wawrinka broke Djokovic after the Serb double faulted in game nine. Wawrinka then held serve to take the set.

In the second set, Djokovic tightened up his serve and groundstrokes. He also started coming into the net, and the changes paid off. Djokovic broke early in the second game and then jumped out to a 5-0 lead. He then cruised to take the set easily.

Now tied with a set apiece, Wawrinka struck first in the second game of the final set. After a long rally, Djokovic broke back and held to level the set at two. Djokovic would win another two games in a row and go on a four-game winning streak. Wawrinka stopped the Serb’s run by holding serve. In the ninth game, the Swiss had a sloppy game and allowed Djokovic to break him for the match.

Djokovic now awaits the winner of the Nadal-Murray match. This will be his first Monte-Carlo final.

(Image: AP/Claude Paris)

After the rain caused havoc yesterday, the tournament got back on track. Rafael Nadal’s half of the draw had to play twice because they did not finish their matches yesterday. At the end the day, all of the qualifiers and wildcards were knocked out of the draw while the usual suspects, minus Roger Federer and plus Stanislas Wawrinka, advanced to the semifinals.

Rafael Nadal finished off Nicolas Lapentti 6-3 6-0 in the morning and beat Ivan Ljubicic 6-3 6-3 in the afternoon to advance. He will meet Andy Murray, who beat Fabio Fognini and Nikolay Davydenko today, in the semifinals. It will be a rematch of the Indian Wells final, except on clay. Alex Corretja has done a good job with Murray for the clay season, and this is Murray’s best result on clay to date.

Novak Djokovic resisted a challenge from Fernando Verdasco and beat the Spaniard in straight sets. The Serb is starting to get back to form and is playing with a lot more confidence than at the beginning of the year. Djokovic will meet Stanislas Wawrinka in the next round where he leads the Swiss 5-2. He has won their last four meetings.

At the end of the day, it was good to see veteran players like Ivan Ljubicic and Nicolas Lapentti make a run in the tournament. Nikolay Davydenko and Juan Monaco returned from injury and played well this week. Hopefully, the young qualifiers, Andreas Beck and Fabio Fognini will be in the mix in the future.

Friday’s Results
Singles Quarterfinals
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) 6-3 6-3
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. 7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-2 4-6 6-3
4 A. Murray (GBR) def. 8 N. Davydenko (RUS) 7-6(1) 6-4
13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) def. Q Andreas Beck (GER) 6-2 6-4

Singles Round of 16
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) 6-3 6-0
4 Andy Murray (GBR) def. Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) 7-6(11) 6-4
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) def. 12 David Nalbandian (ARG) 6-4 5-7 6-3
WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) def. Simone Bolelli (ITA) 7-5 7-6(2)

Doubles Quarterfinals
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) def. 6 M. Fyrstenberg (POL)/M. Matkowski (POL) 4-6 6-2 10-4
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER) 6-7(3) 6-4 10-8
3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND) def. 7 J. Knowle (AUT)/A. Ram (ISR) 7-6(3) 6-3
N Djokovic (SRB) / V Troicki (SRB) def. 4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) 6-4 4-6 12-10

Doubles Round of 16
4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) def. F. Lopez (ESP)/F. Verdasco (ESP) 6-4 6-4

Saturday’s Matches
Singles Semifinals
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. 4 Andy Murray (GBR)
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)

Doubles Semifinals
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) vs. 3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND)
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. N. Djokovic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB)

Saturday’s Order of Play

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(images: Getty Images, AFP)

The rain caused havoc in Monte-Carlo today. It caused delays throughout the day. The tournament had to move some matches from the show courts to the outer courts, causing me to not see the Beck-Monaco match. Boo!

Fernando Verdasco halted David Ferrer, who had been cruising in the draw under the radar. Verdasco took care of his compatriot 6-2 6-1 after 62 minutes of play. He will next meet Novak Djokovic, who dismissed Spaniard Albert Montanes. Their head-to-head matchup is 2-2, with Djokovic winning the last two matches last year.

The match of the day was on the outer courts with a surging Andres Beck and a resurgent Juan Monaco. Each player split the first two sets then dug in the final set. Juan Monaco was ahead 4-2 until Beck rallied to even the set. Beck then broke Monaco, for the final time, at the end of the set to take the match, thus continuing his upset tour of Monte-Carlo. The German will meet Stanislas Wawrinka, who upset Roger Federer. The two players have never met in ATP competition.

Fabio Fognini was ahead 5-3 in the first set, but Andy Murray broke him and held serve to level the match. Murray took the set when he saved three set points and outlasted the Italian in the first-set tiebreak. Rain delayed their match until tomorrow, as well as the Nadal-Lapentti, Nalbandian-Daydenko and the Bolelli-Ljubicic matches.

Tomorrow will be wacky. Verdasco may have to play three times because of doubles.

Thursday’s Results
Singles Round of 16
13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) def. 2 WC Roger Federer (SUI) 6-4 7-5
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. Albert Montanes (ESP) 6-1 6-7(4) 6-0
7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) def. 10 David Ferrer (ESP) 6-2 6-1
Q Andreas Beck (GER) def. Juan Monaco (ARG) 3-6 6-2 7-5
4 Andy Murray (GBR) vs. Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) 7-6(11) 1-0 To Finish
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) 0-1 To Finish
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs. 12 David Nalbandian (ARG) To Finish
Simone Bolelli (ITA) vs. WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) To Finish

Doubles Round of 16
F. Lopez (ESP)/F. Verdasco (ESP) vs. 4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) To Finish

Doubles Quarterfinals
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER) To Finish

Friday’s Matches
Singles Round of 16
4 Andy Murray (GBR) vs. Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) 7-6(11) 1-0 To Finish
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) 0-1 To Finish
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs. 12 David Nalbandian (ARG) To Finish
Simone Bolelli (ITA) vs. WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) To Finish

Singles Quarterfinals
7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs. 3 Novak Djokovic (SRB)
13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) vs. Q Andreas Beck (GER)
1 R. Nadal (ESP) or Q N. Lapentti (ECU) vs. S. Bolelli (ITA) or WC I. Ljubicic (CRO)
4 A. Murray (GBR) or Q F. Fognini (ITA) vs. 12 D. Nalbandian (ARG) or 8 N. Davydenko (RUS)

Doubles Round of 16
F. Lopez (ESP)/F. Verdasco (ESP) vs. 4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) To Finish

Doubles Quarterfinals
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER) To Finish
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) vs. 6 M. Fyrstenberg (POL)/M. Matkowski (POL)
3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND) vs. 7 J. Knowle (AUT)/A. Ram (ISR)
N Djokovic (SRB) / V Troicki (SRB) vs. 4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) or F. Lopez (ESP)/F. Verdasco (ESP)

Friday's Order of Play

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(Image: AP)

Today was more orderly than yesterday. It looked like the Grimaldi curse had struck the seeded players, but most of them advanced today without too much trouble.

Tenth-seed David Ferrer was extra efficient in his victory. He played like he had better things to do. The Spaniard beat the last Frenchman in the draw, Marc Gicquel 6-1 6-0 after just 49 minutes of play.

Juan Martin del Potro met a surprise from wildcard Ivan Ljubicic, former ATP World No. 3. After losing the first set, Ljubicic rallied to upset the fifth-seed 4-6 6-1 6-4.

Marin Cilic met an Italian surprise in the form of Fabio Fognini. The fourteenth-seed lost to the qualifier in straight sets and won only two games in the entire match. As consolation, Cilic still is in doubles contention with Nicolas Kiefer.

In doubles, the seeded teams took care of business except for the eight-seeds Jeff Coetzee and Jordan Kerr who lost to Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troiki 4-6 4-6. The Serbs advance to the quarterfinals where they await the winner of the Verdasco/Lopez-Bhupathi/Knowles match.

Wednesday’s Results
Singles Second Round
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) 6-2 6-3
2 WC Roger Federer (SUI) def. Andreas Seppi (ITA) 6-4 6-4
WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) def. 5 Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) 4-6 6-1 6-4
7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) def. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-3 6-4
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) def. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 6-4 6-3
10 David Ferrer (ESP) def. Marc Gicquel (FRA) 6-1 6-0
12 David Nalbandian (ARG) def. Marcel Granollers (ESP) 4-6 6-3 6-1
13 Stani Wawrinka (SUI) def. Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) 2-6 7-5 6-2
Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) def. 14 Marin Cilic (CRO) 6-2 6-0
Simone Bolelli (ITA) def. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 7-5 6-3
Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) def. Marat Safin (RUS) 7-6(6) 2-6 7-6(6)
Albert Montanes (ESP) def. WC Jene-Rene Lisnard (MON) 6-2

Doubles Second Round
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. WC M. Gicquel (FRA)/P. Mathieu (FRA) 6-3 6-7(5) 10-4
3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND) def. A. Montanes (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP) 2-6 7-6(5) 10-8
6 M. Fyrstenberg (POL)/M. Matkowski (POL) def. N. Davydenko (RUS)/O. Marach (AUT) 6-3 6-4
7 J. Knowle (AUT)/A. Ram (ISR) def. S. Aspelin (SWE)/W. Moodie (RSA) 7-6(3) 6-2
N. Djokovic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB) def. 8 J. Coetzee (RSA)/J. Kerr (AUS) 6-4 6-4

Thursday’s Matches
Singles Round of 16
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)
2 WC Roger Federer (SUI) vs. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)
A Montanes (ESP) vs [3] N Djokovic (SRB)
4 Andy Murray (GBR) vs. Q Fabio Fognini (ITA)
7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs. 10 David Ferrer (ESP)
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs. [12] D Nalbandian (ARG)
Q Andreas Beck (GER) vs. Juan Monaco (ARG)
Simone Bolelli (ITA) vs. WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)

Doubles Round of 16
F Lopez (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) vs [4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH)

Doubles Quarterfinals
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER)

Thursday's Order of Play

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(Image: AP)

Rafael Nadal resumed his clay-court domination today. The unfortunate victim was Juan Ignacio Chela. He beat Chela 6-2 6-3. This win was his 23rd consecutive win in Monte-Carlo.

Nadal jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set. Chela then won 11 consecutive points to cut Nadal’s lead 4-2. Nadal tightened the hatches and cruised to take the next two games and the set. A similar scenario happened in the second set, but Nadal took control again and cruised to victory.

The Spaniard will meet qualifier Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, who dismissed Marat Safin in a 3 ½ hour epic match. Safin lost 6-7(6) 6-2 6-7(6). Safin lost the first set, but cruised to take the second set.

It look like Safin had rallied to send the ATP World No. 98 home after being up 4-0 in the final set. The Russian served for the match at 5-2, but somehow Lapentti dug in to fight off two match points. The Ecuadorian broke Safin and then rattled off another three consecutive games and saved another match point along the way.

It looked like they were headed to a tiebreak, but then Lapentti broke Safin in the eleventh game. He then served for the match and had three match points, but Safin broke the Ecuadorian to send the match to a tiebreak.

Lapentti jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and then later Safin missed a forehand for 5-1. Safin took a minibreak and held serve for 5-4. He then mishit a forehand to give Lapentti three match points.

Naturally, Safin saved two match points to tie it at 6-6. Lapentti dug in again, and it did not help that Safin double faulted to give Lapentti match point number 6. This time Lapentti converted to upset the Russian in his final Monte-Carlo appearance.

This is Lapentti’s first round of 16 appearance this year. His last round of 16 was in 2008 in Cincinnati where he eventually lost in the quarterfinal to Rafael Nadal, incidenttally. That was their last meeting. Their only other meeting was in 2003 in Bastad where Lapentti won in three sets.

(Images: AP)

Marat Safin was in good form as he beat Hewitt, who is fresh off his Houston title. He bested the Aussie 6-4 7-5 in routine fashion. Safin will play Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador in an old-school matchup. Safin currently leads their head-to-head match 1-0 after the Russian beat Lapentti in Barcelona in 2000.


Tuesday’s Matches Singles First Round
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) def. 9 Gael Monfils (FRA) 6-3 6-1
10 David Ferrer (ESP) def. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 6-2 6-3
12 David Nalbandian (ARG) def. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 6-4 3-6 6-3
Albert Montanes (ESP) def. 16 Nicolas Almagro (ESP) 7-6(6) 4-6 7-6(5)
Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) def. Tomas Berdych (CZE) 1-6 6-3 6-3
Marat Safin (RUS) def. WC Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 6-4 7-5
Ivo Karlovic (CRO) def. Florent Serra (FRA) 6-4 6-4
WC Jean-Rene Lisnard (MON) def. Christophe Rochus (BEL) 6-2 6-2
Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) def. Igor Andreev (RUS) 2-6 7-6(5) 6-2

Singles Second Round
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. Q Oscar Hernandez (ESP) 6-1 6-2
4 Andy Murray (GBR) def. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 6-3 6-2
Q Andreas Beck (GER) def. 6 Gilles Simon (FRA) 7-5 6-1
Juan Monaco (ARG) def. 11 Tommy Robredo (ESP) 6-2 6-4

Doubles First Round
N. Davydenko (RUS)/O. Marach (AUT) def. J. Chardy (FRA)/G. Simon (FRA) 6-4 6-1
WC M. Gicquel (FRA)/P. Mathieu (FRA) def. L. Arnold Ker (ARG)/P. Cuevas (URU) 7-6(5) 6-3
S. Aspelin (SWE)/W. Moodie (RSA) def. R. Lindstedt (SWE)/R. Soderling (SWE) 6-2 6-4

Doubles Second Round
M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER) def. 5 B. Soares (BRA)/K. Ullyett (ZIM) 6-4 1-6 10-7

Wednesday’s Matches Singles Second Round
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG)
2 WC Roger Federer (SUI) vs. Andreas Seppi (ITA)
5 Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) vs. WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)
7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs. Ivo Karlovic (CRO)
10 David Ferrer (ESP) vs. Marc Gicquel (FRA)
12 David Nalbandian (ARG) vs. Marcel Granollers (ESP)
13 Stani Wawrinka (SUI) vs. Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG)
14 Marin Cilic (CRO) vs. Q Fabio Fognini (ITA)
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) vs. Simone Bolelli (ITA)
Marat Safin (RUS) vs. Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)
Albert Montanes (ESP) vs. WC Jene-Rene Lisnard (MON)

Doubles Second Round
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. WC M. Gicquel (FRA)/P. Mathieu (FRA)
3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND) vs. A. Montanes (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP)
6 M. Fyrstenberg (POL)/M. Matkowski (POL) vs. N. Davydenko (RUS)/O. Marach (AUT)
7 J. Knowle (AUT)/A. Ram (ISR) vs. S. Aspelin (SWE)/W. Moodie (RSA)
8 J. Coetzee (RSA)/J. Kerr (AUS) vs. N. Djokovic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB)

Wednesday's Order of Play

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(Image: AP)

Nicolas Kiefer was bounced by countryman Andreas Beck 1-6 7-6(1) 6-4. Kiefer won the first set handily and somehow lost the next to sets to the 23-year-old qualifier.

All is not lost for the German, Kiefer will play doubles tomorrow with Cilic. The pair beat the clay power-duo of Nicloas Almagro and David Ferrer. Kiefer and Clilic will play fifth-seeds Bruno Soares and Kevin Ullyett tomorrow.

Monday’s Results
Singles First Round
14 Marin Cilic (CRO) def. Q Flavio Cipolla (ITA) 6-3 6-2
Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) def. 15 Radek Stepanek (CZE) 6-3 1-6 6-3
Q Oscar Hernandez (ESP) def. Julien Benneteau (FRA) 6-4 6-4
Andreas Seppi (ITA) def. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 6-2 6-0
Juan Monaco (ARG) def. Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 6-2 7-5
Juan Chela (ARG) def. Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) 6-4 2-6 7-5
Marc Gicquel (FRA) def. Edwardo Schwank (ARG) 3-6 6-1 7-6(2)
WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) def. Q Kristof Vliegen (BEL) 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4
Marcel Granollers (ESP) def. Jose Acasuso (ARG) 7-6(4) 7-6(2)
Q Andreas Beck (GER) def. Nicolas Kiefer (GER) 1-6 7-6(1) 6-4
Victor Hanescu (ROU) def. Q Alberto Martin (ESP) 6-2 6-3

Doubles First Round
A. Montanes (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP) def. T. Berdych (CZE)/F. Cermak (CZE) 6-4 7-5
F. Lopez (ESP)/F. Verdasco (ESP) def. I. Andreev (RUS)/M. Safin (RUS) 7-6(3) 6-4
G. Monfils (FRA)/S. Wawrinka (SUI) def. WC G. Couillard (MON)/J. Lisnard (MON) 7-5 6-3
N. Djokovic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB) def. M. Melo (BRA)/A Sa (BRA) 6-1 6-4

Tuesday’s Matches
Singles First Round
9 Gael Monfils (FRA) vs. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)
10 David Ferrer (ESP) vs. Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
12 David Nalbandian (ARG) vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
16 Nicolas Almagro (ESP) vs. Albert Montanes (ESP)
Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs. Tomas Berdych (CZE)
Marat Safin (RUS) vs. WC Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)
Ivo Karlovic (CRO) vs. Florent Serra (FRA)
WC Jean-Rene Lisnard (MON) vs. Christophe Rochus (BEL)
Igor Andreev (RUS) vs. Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG)

Singles Second Round
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. Q Oscar Hernandez (ESP)
4 Andy Murray (GBR) vs. Victor Hanescu (ROU)
6 Gilles Simon (FRA) vs. Q Andreas Beck (GER)
11 Tommy Robredo (ESP) vs. Juan Monaco (ARG)

Doubles First Round
J. Chardy (FRA)/G. Simon (FRA) vs. N. Davydenko (RUS)/O. Marach (AUT)
WC M. Gicquel (FRA)/P. Mathieu (FRA) vs. L. Arnold Ker (ARG)/P. Cuevas (URU)
R. Lindstedt (SWE)/R. Soderling (SWE) vs. S. Aspelin (SWE)/W. Moodie (RSA)

Doubles Second Round
5 B. Soares (BRA)/K. Ullyett (ZIM) vs. M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER)

Tuesday's Order of Play

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Nicolas Lapentti upset fifteenth-seed Radek Stepanek 6-3 1-6 6-3. It is his first win over the Czech, who has a 3-0 record over Lapentti prior to this match.

The former world number 6, who had to qualify this weekend, is currently ranked 98th. He awaits the winner of the Hewitt-Safin match. This year, Lapentti has yet to pass the round of 32 and has a 5-6 singles record to date.

Could he be inspired by JCF this week? We shall see.

Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez of Spain (pictured left) beat the Russian duo of Marat Safin and Igor Andreev (pictured right watching the Cilic match with Youznhy before their doubles match) 7-6(3) 6-4. The Spaniards will meet the fourth-seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in the next round.

Not to be outdone, the Serbian team of Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troiki took out the Brazilian doubles-specialists Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa 6-1 6-4. In the second round, the Serbs will encounter the eighth-seeds Jeff Coetzee and Jordan Kerr.

(Images: Montreal Gazette)

Juan Monaco emerged victorious over Jeremy Chardy 6-2 7-5 after 99 minutes of play. It was a pretty solid win despite the Frenchman having near home-field advantage. Monaco jumped all over Chardy’s serve and broke early thereby taking the crowd out of the equation. He then cruised to a straight-set victory in spite of a late Chardy run in the second set.

The victory marks a sort of comeback for the 25-year-old Argentine, who has suffered from a series of injuries late last year and early this year. He retired from a first-round match in Mexico and missed Indian Wells this year. The Argentine was ranked 14th last February and has slipped to his current ATP world rank of 60. He was in good form today, and hopefully he will be back in the mix this year.

Up next for Monaco is Tommy Robredo in what could be a grunge match of the Buenos Aires final. Robredo is currently playing well this year and leads their head-to-head matchup 2-1.

(image: AFP/GettyImages)

Sunday’s Results
Singles First Round
11 Tommy Robredo (ESP) def. Rainer Schuettler (GER) 6-1 6-4
13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) def. Viktor Troicki (SRB) 6-2 6-3
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) def. Ernest Gulbis (LAT) 6-1 6-3
Simone Bolelli (ITA) def. Robin Soderling (SWE) 6-4 1-6 6-3

Doubles First Round
M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER) def. N. Almagro (ESP)/D. Ferrer (ESP) 4-6 7-6(3) 10-8

Monday’s Matches
Singles First Round
14 Marin Cilic (CRO) vs. Q Flavio Cipolla (ITA)
15 Radek Stepanek (CZE) vs. Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)
Julien Benneteau (FRA) vs. Q Oscar Hernandez (ESP)
Andreas Seppi (ITA) vs. Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
Jeremy Chardy (FRA) vs. Juan Monaco (ARG)
Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) vs. Juan Chela (ARG)
Marc Gicquel (FRA) vs. Edwardo Schwank (ARG)
Q Kristof Vliegen (BEL) vs. WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)
Jose Acasuso (ARG) vs. Marcel Granollers (ESP)
Q Andreas Beck (GER) vs. Nicolas Kiefer (GER)
Victor Hanescu (ROU) vs Q Alberto Martin (ESP)

Doubles First Round
T. Berdych (CZE)/F. Cermak (CZE) vs. A. Montanes (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP)
F. Lopez (ESP)/F. Verdasco (ESP) vs. I. Andreev (RUS)/M. Safin (RUS)
WC G. Couillard (MON)/J. Lisnard (MON) vs. G. Monfils (FRA)/S. Wawrinka (SUI)
M. Melo (BRA)/A Sa (BRA) vs. N. Djokovic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB)

Monday's Order of Play

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(image: AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) def. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 6-3 6-4
Fabio Fognini (ITA) def. Steve Darcis (BEL) 3-6 6-1 6-1
Flavio Cipolla (ITA) def. Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 6-4 6-3
Alberto Martin (ESP) def. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) 6-1 6-3
Andreas Beck (GER) def. Nicolas Devilder (FRA) 6-2 6-2
Kristof Vliegen (BEL) def. Pablo Cuevas (URU) 1-6 7-6(5) 6-4
Oscar Hernandez (ESP) def Pablo Andujar (ESP) 3-6 7-6(5) 6-2

(image: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters)

City: Monte Carlo, Monaco
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Championship Points: 1000
2008 Singles Champion: Rafael Nadal
2008 Doubles Champions: Rafael Nadal/Tommy Robredo

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal will be in action to defend the title. Should the Spaniard win the tournament, this would be his fifth consecutive Monte Carlo title, a tournament record. In order to achieve this feat, he will have to get past a few people. Aside from Nadal, the usual suspects are always contenders.

Now that Roger Federer is back in contention, he has a good chance of advancing to the final. His half of the draw is chalked full of the top Spaniards and Djokovic, so it will be no cakewalk for him to get there.
Novak Djokovic is in a slump but showed promise in Miami when he knocked off Federer in the semifinals. He could meet Federer again in the semifinals. If he is in good form, he could upset Federer again.

Andy Murray is always in the mix, but clay is his weakest surface. He hired Alex Corretja to work with him during the clay court season. Murray could meet Nadal in the semifinals. The Scotsman though has never been passed the round of 16 in an ATP tournament on clay, but there is always a first time for everything.

Spaniards David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo and Nicolas Almagro could cause a lot of damage. Robredo is already having particularly good year with two clay tournaments under his belt. Almagro won one clay tournament this year. Verdasco could be a threat but has yet to breakthrough after showing promise in the Australian Open. All of these players are in Federer’s side of the draw.

As for the Musketeers, Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils are scheduled to play. Gasquet pulled out of the tournament with a shoulder injury, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is not scheduled to play. Simon and Monfils have been pretty underwhelming this year. Simon, in particular, has struggled early this year. He did beat Federer twice last year and leads their matchup 2-0. Simon could meet the Big Swiss Cheese in the quarterfinals. Let’s hope this is the week Simon gets back on track.

The Argentines are also capable of mixing it up. Juan Martin Del Potro and David Nalbandian could be trouble for Nadal, as they are in his half. Del Potro beat Nadal for the first time in the semifinals of Miami. This tournament is on clay, so I am sure Nadal will be exacting some street justice on Del Potro in the quarterfinals as payback.

Despite all of the contenders in the field, Nadal should be able to take the title if he is healthy.

Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles

Tournament Malfeasance
Singles First Round
Feliciano Lopez vs. David Ferrer
Jeremy Chardy vs. Juan Monaco

Doubles First Round
F. Lopez/F. Verdasco vs. M. Safin/I. Andreev
D. Ferrer/N. Almagro vs. M. Cilic/N. Kiefer

(images: Getty Images)