Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are far and away the best clay-court players on the ATP Tour.
The world number one and two have been dominant on the red dirt over the last couple of years, with Alcaraz claiming multiple titles on the surface.
Last year, the Spaniard won titles in Monte Carlo, Rome and Paris.
Should Carlos Alcaraz skip Roland Garros if he’s not 100% fit?
This year, Sinner won his first big meeting with Alcaraz, defeating his great rival 7-6, 6-3 in the Monte Carlo Masters final.
Yet, for all of their dominance, other ATP Tour stars have emerged as major threats on the clay-court surface.
Brad Gilbert names Novak Djokovic as the best clay-court player aside from Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
Brad Gilbert, the former coach of Coco Gauff and Andre Agassi, has discussed the best clay-court players on the ATP Tour on the Big T Podcast.
Gilbert, like most tennis fans, acknowledges that Alcaraz and Sinner are the best clay-court players on the ATP Tour.
The legendary coach [pictured below] has now named his top three clay-court players aside from Alcaraz and Sinner.
“I’ll start at three. I am going to go with [Arthur] Fils,” said Gilbert. “A Frenchman has not won a major since 1983, and the French do struggle a bit in Paris, but the way he is playing, I am going to put him at three.”
Since returning from a long-term back injury in February, Fils has performed superbly.
The Frenchman made the final of the Qatar Open in his first event back from injury, and has continued to excel thereafter.
Most recently, Fils won the Barcelona Open, beating Andrey Rublev in the final.
Is Arthur Fils the next best player after Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner?
“At two – I am going to begrudgingly put him at two, because he is always there, you don’t feel like he is going to win something big unless somebody else at the top loses, but I would put [Alexander] Zverev at two,” Gilbert continued.
“And with no play at all, I still have to say that Novak [Djokovic] has this great ability to use the first week as a practice week to put himself into position.
“I would put him at number one in my power rankings, minus the big two.”
Djokovic, who is yet to compete on the clay this year, has won various major clay-court titles throughout his long career.
The Serbian superstar is a three-time Roland Garros champion. He has also won multiple titles in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.
Novak Djokovic’s first clay-court title
In 2006, Novak Djokovic won his first-ever ATP Tour title.
The Serbian star, seeded third at the Dutch event, began his campaign by defeating Boris Pasanski 6-0, 6-3.
Djokovic continued to perform at a high level, defeating Tomaz Zib, Marc Gicquel and Guillermo Coria in straight sets [Coria retired while Djokovic led 6-2, 1-0.]
In the final, Djokovic faced off against former world number nine Nicolas Massu.
The Serb emerged victorious, defeating the Chilean star 7-6, 6-4.
Years later, Massu reflected on Djokovic’s first triumph on the ATP Tour.
“I remember that it was a really close match,” Massu told the ATP Tour. “I had chances in the first set. I led 3/0 in the first-set tie-break and he was showing a lot of personality at that time.
“He was showing unbelievable talent, fighting spirit, also entertainment, because he was a very complete player. He had a lot of courage in important moments for that age.
“That year I was playing really good on clay. I was one of the guys who won more on clay that year and I played four finals. I won one, so I was playing well.
“The match was close, but what surprised me at that age was the courage he had at 19 years old to show resolve and to have solutions in the important moments — besides all the tennis parts, [although] they were amazing also.”
