Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer live on Sky Sports in Monte Carlo
Monday 11 April 2016 08:29, UK
Andy Murray will be joined by some of the world's top players at the Monte Carlo Masters as the clay season begins on Sky Sports starting Monday.
Live ATP Masters Tennis
A ninth trophy for Nadal?
Spain's Rafael Nadal has a sensational record in the event having won an Open Era-record eight successive titles between 2005 and 2012.
The Spaniard's first Monte Carlo title win was against Guillermo Coria in 2005, but it has now been three years since he last won the tournament and has battled injury, form and confidence problems since his last triumph.
During his spectacular run, he won 46 successive matches including three finals against Roger Federer and two against Djokovic, but he lost his last final with the Serb here in 2013 and the formidable world No 1 is the defending champion as well as the winner of the first major and first two Masters events of the year.
Who has defeated the King of the Clay?
Nadal lost to Djokovic in both 2013 and 2015 while he suffered defeat to David Ferrer in 2014.
His last final came in 2013 when Djokovic fought against the pain of an ankle injury to record victory.
In 2015, Djokovic went on to have one of his best years, defeating Nadal in Monte Carlo again, this time in a comfortable 6-3 6-3 semi-final success.
Federer seeks to fill gap?
Despite reaching the Monte Carlo final four times, Federer yet to emerge victorious - losing to Nadal three times before a 2014 final defeat to fellow Swiss Stan Warwinka.
Federer had beaten Djokovic in the semi-finals before his defeat and the Swiss ace will be making his first return since the Australian Open having being forced to withdraw from Miami with a stomach virus on his scheduled return from knee surgery.
Murray's Miami Defeat
Andy Murray will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing return from the North America Masters swing where he was an early casualty at both Indian Wells and Miami.
Murray has never won in Monte Carlo and could face clay-court specialist Guido Pella in a difficult second round encounter,
Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer and Milos Raonic all make up the field for the first clay-court Masters event of 2016.
Watch the Monte Carlo Masters live on Sky Sports between April 10-17. Coverage begins on Monday at 9.30am on Sky Sports 1 HD.
By purchasing a Sky Sports Day Pass for £6.99 or Sky Sports Week Pass for £10.99, you can enjoy access to all seven Sky Sports channels and watch on a TV with a NOW TV Box or on a range of devices.
