Novak Djokovic confirms return to clay court, will challenge Nadal's Monte Carlo dominance

On a winning roll in 2021, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has issued a stern warning for his longtime rival and World No. 3 Rafael Nadal as the ATP tour enters its clay-court season. The first of three ATP Masters 1000 tournaments to be played on clay, the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters 2021 will take place at the Monte-Carlo Country Club from April 11 to 18. While Monte Carlo may be Djokovic's backyard, there is only one unrivalled king of the Monte Carlo Masters, and that is none other than the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal. 

Monte Carlo Masters 2021: Can Djokovic break the Nadal curse on clay?

Having pulled out of each of their engagements since the Australian Open in February of this year, both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will come into the Monte Carlo Masters hungry for titles. With his 9th Australian Open title in his bag, Djokovic will be on the lookout for a record-extending 37th ATP Masters 1000 title. Meanwhile, Nadal should have already brushed off his poor quarter-final run at the Australian Open and will now be aiming at equalling Djokovic with a 36th Masters 1000 title.

The more significant record on the line, though, will be that if he succeeds, this will be Nadal's 12th title win at the Monte Carlo Masters — a record no other man has even close to touching in recent years. But then again, Nadal on clay is not a mere man but a beast. Facing him this year will be past champions Novak Djokovic (2013 & 2015) and Fabio Fognini (2019), along with hopefuls like World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 6 Alexander Zverev and No. 8 Andrey Rublev. The biggest name missing from the draw as of now will be Roger Federer.

The last time Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic met on clay was at the French Open final, 2020. To say that Djokovic was soundly beaten by Rafa would be an understatement for the 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 carnage that took place. With the Rafael Nadal ranking slipping down to a  year low of No. 3 and the Novak Djokovic Grand Slams collection sorely missing that second Roland Garros trophy, both men will hope to get their clay seasons off to perfect starts this year. 

Novak Djokovic vs Nadal head to head

The Novak Djokovic vs Nadal head to head currently stands at 29-27 in favour of the Serbian. Coming on to clay courts, however, Nadal has a distinct advantage over Djokovic, having won 18 of their 25 meetings on the surface. This includes four matches in Monte-Carlo — including the 2009 and 2012 finals — as well as the pair's last four clay-court matches (2017 Madrid, 2018 & 2019 Rome and 2020 Roland Garros).

Image Credits: Rolex MC Masters Twitter