Cleaning up the dirt

The clay court season kicks off tomorrow with the Monte-Carlo Masters, and the ATP circuit is at an interesting crossroads. Here’s a look at the prospects of the top players as they look to clean up the European dirt.
RAFA’S REALM
For a good part of seven years now, the arrival of the clay court season has connoted that Rafael Nadal would be sweeping up silverware inexorably. Sometimes he would win titles in second gear and occasionally he would enter a match having already beaten the opponent psychologically. Rafa’s stats on clay are as dominant as anything one can conjure up in any given sport, and hence, he seemed as unbeatable as any athlete has ever looked when he took to court on European clay. And then 2011 happened…
NO-DJO’S MOJO
Novak Djokovic’s beastly year was an all-round show. He was dominant on all three surfaces, winning nine ATP Masters 1000 titles and vanquishing three majors in possibly the greatest season of the Open Era. Now, this domineering show also included back-to-back ATP Masters’ final triumphs over Nadal – both of them saw the Spaniard comprehensively beaten. And this is where doubts began creeping into Nadal’s monarchy on clay. While Rafa ended up winning the biggest prize in clay court tennis at Roland Garros, he didn’t beat No-Djo en route to his sixth French Open triumph.
Djokovic, when at his best on hard courts, has always had too much for Nadal at his best on the same surface. However, the same cannot be said of clay or even grass – not yet anyway. And we might find out in the answer to both those questions in the coming few months; although Nadal is far from his best entering into the clay court season.
FEDERER’S CHANCES
The Rafa phantom might have haunted Federer throughout the Spaniard domination on clay, but if the Swiss master’s semifinal showing at Roland Garros is anything to go by, he’s too good for the rest of the pack when he is at his best on clay. Now, at 30, and having ostensibly nothing to prove, Federer might not go into the tournaments as the man to beat, but ideally he’d want to improve his numbers in the Nadal-Djokovic era, having had been unbeatable when the competition wasn’t quite as menacing. He’s playing as good as he ever did, and he’d want to prove that his best is a match for the current top two – something that hasn’t been quite as evident.
MURRAY IN THE MIX
After Andy Murray suffered a horrendous start to the season, it was actually the clay court season that brought the Scott back on track. He was a couple of points away from beating Djokovic at Rome, and while he might not carry a title winning threat into the clay court season, he still has the wherewithal to down one of the top three at clay.
TSONGA’S SURGE
Jo-Wilfred Tsonga couldn’t muster up three wins on the trot on clay last year, but upsurge over the past six months has meant that there are high expectations for the Frenchman for the season that culminates in Paris. A good showing in the ATP Masters leading up to Roland Garros could blow the lid off the aforementioned expectations come the French Open.
RAMIFICATIONS FOR LONDON
Another dominant run for Djokovic, and a possible Roland Garros triumph would mean that he’d be right up there with the very best to have played this game. Meanwhile, if Nadal could erase the Djokovic voodoo by beating the Serbian, and Federer has a strong showing this spring as well, those two would enhance their chances of a robust show at Wimbledon and the London Olympics, which would be played out on grass this time round.