Djokovic, Alcaraz and the unpredictable clay season

The 2022 clay season kicks off this week with ATP 250 events in Texas, USA and Marrakech, Morocco. Over two months, 12 tournaments will take place on red dust courts, ending with the men’s singles final at Roland Garros on June 5 in Paris.

Top players can choose to participate in seven ATP 250 tournaments, an ATP 500 event in Barcelona, ​​three Masters 1000 tournaments and the top destination is Roland Garros, which kicks off May 22. Most of the stars are absent from the two ATP 250 events this week, to focus on the remaining 10 tournaments in Europe from next week.

The emergence of young talents, which Carlos Alcaraz is outstanding, promising to create the most unpredictable clay season ever. Rafael Nadal no longer dominating from last season, when losing in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Roland Garros. Novak Djokovic brought many doubts when returning from a long break. The number one player in the world has only played three matches since the beginning of the year and is facing the task of defending the Roland Garros championship.

Nadal holds a 464-43 win-loss record on outdoor clay courts, winning 62 ATP titles. His number of wins is more than the other six top players in the world combined. The one chasing you on this pitch, Djokovic less than 200 wins. But, Djokovic defeated Nadal in the semi-finals of Roland Garros last year, after losing the Rome Masters final to his rival.

Injury at Indian Wells is expected to take away most of Nadal’s tournaments this year’s clay season. He only returned as early as May, but difficult to attend both the Masters 1000 in Madrid and Rome, which take place in the following weeks and only a week away from Roland Garros. Before retiring, Nadal was the number one player this year with a 20-match winning streak, winning three of the four finals.

Djokovic’s position is also in doubt, despite being in the 364th week of holding the world number one position. The 34-year-old has been training for two days in Monte Carlo to prepare for the first Masters 1000 of the clay season. He then also attended the Serbia Open in his hometown of Belgrade and is likely to participate in both major tournaments in Madrid and Rome. Djokovic’s problem is that he has too little time to play since the beginning of the year, plus the psychological pressure of not getting vaccinated.

Djokovic, Alcaraz and the unpredictable clay season

“Novak will have a big challenge on clay this year,” former world number one Mats Wilander commented on Eurosport. “He needs 10-15 games to prepare for Roland Garros. Novak had a long break last year, then played well when he returned. But his spirit is not the same now. A lot has happened. , he also parted with coach Vajda. A lot of unknowns are for Novak.”

Djokovic has to chase the record 21 Grand Slams of Nadal on the opponent’s own territory. It was a big challenge, which he once described as “climbing Mount Everest” when he was crowned in Paris last year. According to bookmakers, Nole is the number two candidate to win Roland Garros this year, below Nadal and above Carlos Alcaraz.

Alcaraz is making great progress, approaching the top 10 in the world with a gap of only 29 points. He consecutively set the record for the youngest person to win the ATP 500 and Miami Open. Alcaraz’s performance this season is only behind Nadal, making him a leading candidate for major titles. “Honestly, I think it’s time to aim for a Grand Slam title,” the 18-year-old said after won the Miami Open last week.

Clay is Alcaraz’s preferred surface. He won all five games at the Rio Open and won one for Spain in the Davis Cup qualifiers. On his birthday last year, Alcaraz met Nadal in the second round of the Madrid Open and won only three games. But in this year’s Indian Wells, the 11 ATP player only lost to his senior after three sets, with an even match.

Job Daniil Medvedev missing most of the clay season to hernia surgery has little effect on the level of competition. Medvedev is the number two in the world but has never played well on clay. His best achievement was only reaching the quarterfinals of Roland Garros. The victory and loss of the Russian tennis player on this court is 15-21. He is the only person in the top 8 ATP currently has not won a title on clay. Similarly, both Felxi Auger-Aliassime and Hubert Hurkacz have lost more than they have won on this surface.

Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas usually plays well in the clay season. Last year Zverev won the Madrid Open, while Tsitsipas won Monte Carlo and reached the final of Roland Garros. Zverev won 93 matches and won six clay tournaments. The German tennis player is having some trouble off the court, affecting his performance. If that can be solved, he is a championship candidate that cannot be ignored. Tsitsipas is also not in high form in this year’s hard court season, but clay is still the promised land of Greek players. He won 23 clay matches last year, winning two titles.

Casper Ruud is another contender for the clay tournament. Nadal’s academy adult won the most on clay last season, with 28 games and four titles. The Norwegian tennis player is also in good form, having just reached the final of the Miami Open.

Others in the ATP top 10 that need to be mentioned are Matteo Berrettini, Andrey Rublev and Cameron Norrie. But, their chances are only equal to that of two veterans who are currently outside the top 30, Albert Ramos Vinolas and Federico Delbonis – players with a knack for clay.

Vy Anh