Despite its small surface, Monaco has a big reputation. It however deserves it without a doubt. A wonderful destination for your trips, where you could spend heavenly holidays, the country is also a stage for various events, such as fashion presentations, the Monaco Grand Prix, or film shootings. Things go to such an extent that fame overflows over activities that don’t even take place within Monaco’s borders. So it is the case of Monte Carlo Rolex Tennis Masters, an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, a commune which borders on the Principality.
Duration
Part of ATP Masters Series on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour, the tournament is carried out on clay courts and is currently organized every year in the April-May period.
Beginning
As far as its origin is concerned, the history of Monte Carlo tennis championship dates back to 1897. This is the year when it debuted, the event becoming an “Open” 72 years later, in 1969. Before it was granted the status of an ATP Super 9 Series championship, the competition was held as a major tournament of the Grand Prix Tennis Circuit between 1970 and 1989.
Differences from Other Similar Contests
Although resembling the other ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, Monte Carlo Tennis Masters differed from them at first in that it was not based on mandatory player commitment. In 2007, its structure underwent a series of changes which were later reflected in the schedule of the 2009 edition.
Participants and Winners
Throughout time, the Monte Carlo Tennis Masters has swiftly covered a long distance from being a local competition to the status of a fully-fledged international contest. It has managed to gain a well deserved prestige due to the participation of several famous tennis professionals such as the current world number one Rafael Nadal and the retired legend Guillermo Villas. Both the Spaniard and the Argentinian occupy a special place in the tournament’s records for being the only players in open era to win 6 consecutive titles in the same tournament.
The period between 2005 and 2010 was a golden age for top seed Nadal as he succeeded in obtaining the Monte Carlo Masters’ title every time and reign supreme over the other contestants. His first victory in the tournament’s 2005 finals was against Argentine’s representative, Guillermo Coria. The following three editions had the same outcome for the Spaniard with the sole difference that he defeated the world number one at that time, namely Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, on each of the occasions. In 2009, “Rafa” met the Serb Novak Djokovic, the latter becoming the runner-up of the contest. The 2010 finals of the Monte Carlo Rolex Tennis Masters brought together two fellow countrymen in the persons of Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco, but experience had a say in the encounter and therefore ensured the former another victory.
2011 Edition
This year’s edition is to take place between 9 and 17 April, using the same format of “best 3 sets”, and its contestants are represented by the first 57 ranked tennis players in the ATP classification. Among the participants are included Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, David Ferrer, and Thomas Berdych.