Here’s a review of the winners of the ATP clay court tournaments leading up to the 2016 French Open at Roland Garros.
Find out who is in form and who are the potential challengers to reigning champion Wawrinka and nine times champion Nadal.
Centre Court at the Barcelona Open
It’s been an interesting lead up to this year’s French Open, which runs from 22 May to 5 June.
World number one Novak Djokovic already has one 2016 grand slam title from the Australian Open and Masters 1000 wins at Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid.
World number two Andy Murray defeated Djokovic to win Rome.
Nine time Roland Garros champion Nadal, currently ranked five in the world is the fourth seed at Roland Garros. In 2016 Nadal has won titles at Monte Carlo and Barcelona.
Unfortunately both Roger Federer and Gael Monfils have withdrawn from the tournament.
View the men’s Roland Garros draw here.
Read on for the full list of men’s clay court tournament winners so far this year.
Grand Prix Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
4-10 April
ATP 250
Total Prize Money – €520,070
Federico Delbonis d Borna Coric 6-2, 6-4
Fayez Sarofim & Co US Men’s Clay Court Championship, Houston, USA
4-10 April
ATP 250
Total Prize Money – $577,860
Juan Monaco d Jack Sock 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Monte-Carlo, Monaco
11-17 April
ATP 1000
Total Prize Money – €4,094,505
Rafael Nadal d Gael Monfils 7-5, 5-7, 6-0
Other notable results:
Second round Jiri Vesely d Novak Djokovic 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
Semi-final Nadal d Andy Murray 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain
18-24 April
ATP 500
Total Prize Money – €2,428,355
Rafael Nadal d Kei Nishikori 6-4, 7-5
I was lucky enough to attend the Quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open. View photos of Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori, and read my wrap up of the tournament here (it was fabulous!)
BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy, Bucharest, Romania
18-24 April
ATP 250
Total Prize Money – €520,070
Fernando Verdasco d Lucas Pouille 6-3, 6-2
BMW Open by FWU AG, Munich, Germany
25 April – 1 May
ATP 250
Total Prize Money – €520,070
Philipp Kohlschreiber d Dominic Thiem 7-6(7), 4-6, 7-6(4)
Kohlschreiber (taken in Barcelona)
Millennium Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal
25 April – 1 May
ATP 250
Total Prize Money – €520,070
Nicolas Almagro d Pablo Carreno Busta 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 6-3
Photo courtesy of tennis-buzz.com
TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open
25 April – 1 May
ATP 250
Total Prize Money – €483,080
Diego Schwartzman d Grigor Dimitrov 6-7(5), 7-6(4). 6-0
Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain
30 April – 8 May
ATP 1000
Total Prize Money – €5,719,660
Novak Djokovic d Andy Murray 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Other notable results:
Semi-final Murray d Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-4
Second round Nick Kyrgios d Stan Wawrinka 7-6(7), 7-6(2)
Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy
9-15 May
ATP 1000
Total Prize Money – €4,300,755
Andy Murray d Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3
Other notable results:
Quarterfinal Djokovic d Rafael Nadal 7-5, 7-6(4)
Third round Juan Monaco d Stan Wawrinka 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4
Geneva Open, Geneva, Switzerland
15-21 May
ATP 250
Total Prize Money – €556,195
Stan Wawrinka d Marin Cilic 6-4, 7-6(11)
Open de Nice Cote d’Azur, Nice, France
14-21 May
ATP 250
Total Prize Money – €520,070
Dominic Thiem d Alexander Zverev 6-4, 3-6, 6-0
Eiffel Tower
Wish I could be live at Roland Garros, but I will be watching on TV as much as possible. See you on Twitter (@grandslamgal)
Until next time
Grand Slam Gal