There is a significant dearth of American talent present at the Monte Carlo Masters this year.
Ethan Quinn and Emilio Nava – ranked 54th and 103rd on the ATP Tour – are the only two American representatives in the Monte Carlo main draw.
Quinn and Nava are certainly far from poor players: both players have more than proven that they will be forces on the ATP Tour for years to come.
Nava was defeated in the second round by Jiri Lehecka, while Quinn is due to play Terence Atmane on Tuesday.
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However, despite the presence of Nava and Quinn, there are an incredibly large number of American players absent from the Monegasque event.
America’s top eight players are absent from Monte Carlo
It is no secret that American players have historically struggled on European clay courts.
This is demonstrated by America’s record at the event over the last seven decades – the last American player to win the Monte Carlo title was Hugh Stewart, who triumphed at the 1956 event.
This year, the top eight ranked American players are absent from the Monte Carlo Masters.
Some of these players, like Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda, have legitimate reasons for missing the event. Fritz, the world number nine, has chosen to forego the Monte Carlo Masters in order to nurse a persistent knee injury.
However, many of the players absent from Monte Carlo simply chose not to enter the tournament.
Ben Shelton, Alex Michelsen, Learner Tien, Holger Rune and Brandon Nakashima – all ranked inside the ATP top 50 – did not enter the event.
Of course, both Shelton and Paul won titles at the Houston Open, meaning it would have always been difficult for them to participate in Monte Carlo.
However, when looking at this issue from a different perspective, both Paul and Shelton could have chosen to prioritise Monte Carlo over Houston.
America’s top eight ATP players
- Taylor Fritz
- Ben Shelton
- Tommy Paul
- Frances Tiafoe
- Learner Tien
- Alex Michelsen
- Brandon Nakashima
- Sebastian Korda
This was a view shared by American Masters champion John Isner, who expressed a desire to see Shelton play in Monte Carlo.
John Isner wants Americans to consider playing Monte Carlo
“Again, I said this last week, I would love to see someone like Ben Shelton at least enter the tournament,” Isner said on the Nothing Major Show.
And if things don’t go well in Houston… I know Ben took the doubles title in Houston but it’s not that hard, if you don’t do very well in Houston, to get over there.
“Try to string together a good week and then get back home.
“I really would like some of the Americans to consider that moving forward.”
Isner, despite his comments, very rarely competed in the Monte Carlo Masters during his career.
During his 17-year career, the American played at the event twice: in 2013 and 2015.
In 2013, he lost in the first round to Ernests Gulbis. Two years later, he defeated Steve Johnson and Viktor Troicki before losing to Rafael Nadal.
