MONTE CARLO ROLEX MASTERS

When you play at a major or one of the top events, the tournament directors have the veto power to assign seeds based on a players performance at the event and ranking.  They have traditionally kept the seed identically to the player’s ranking in most cases; except when the player has excelled on that surface or tournament.

Wimbledon for example would adjust their seedings to reflect Roger Federer’s prowess on grass when he was dominant.  Strangely, despite Rafael Nadal’s dominance on clay, there has been no concession made to reflect his skill on clay.  So fast forward to the 2021 Monte Carlo Rolex Masters.

THE TOP TWO SEEDS: Djokovic & Medvedev

Nadal is NOT the number two seed, Daniil Medvedev is.  Not even the fact that Nadal is playing for his twelfth title at this prestigious event and Medvedev has yet to prove his ability on clay.  How do you justify that idiocy?

Medvedev was forced to withdraw from the tournament because he tested positive for coronavirus. Why were the directors then not capable of moving Nadal to that position.  It always seemed illogical that a lucky loser can be placed in that position.

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THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF THE SEEDING SYSTEM

It should be the next highest seed gets moved to that spot and the lucky loser then gets that spot in the draw instead.  No such common sense reigns in the rules of seedings.  The unpredictability of the seeding system leaves a nasty taste in my mouth, as it seems to depend on the mindset of the director when he wakes up that day.

In any event, Nadal has a tough draw.  In his half is Fabio Fognini, a player who has caused the Spaniard some bitter losses.  There is also the red-hot Andrey Rublev.  The steady and potentially dangerous Roberto Bautista Agut.  Then there is Diego Schwartzman, Karen Khachanov, and Grigor Dimitrov, who can each make life extremely uncomfortable for Nadal.  It will be interesting to see what Nadal has this year?

SOURCE OF IMAGES: Getty Images/Alexander Hassenstein