The Baseline Top 5: ATP clay Masters surprises in '21

In a year that’s already seen a player ranked outside of the Top 100 make a Grand Slam semifinal, many others reach career highs in the rankings, tour veterans win their first titles and so much more, the first several months of the 2021 ATP season has been quite unpredictable.

And why wouldn’t that carry over to the Masters events held on clay?

As the Monte Carlo-to-Madrid-to-Rome stretch winds down, here’s a look at some of the surprise moments that took place at the prestigious tournaments. (Photos: Getty Images)

1

Big-Time Performances

When the ATP rankings came out May 10, it marked the first time an American male wasn’t in the Top 30. In Rome, Reilly Opelka worked to make sure that dubious statistic won’t hold up for much longer. The 23-year-old entered the tournament on a six-match losing streak, but picked up four high-quality wins in Rome to reach his first career Masters 1000 semifinal. Opelka’s run came a week after the veteran American John Isner advanced to the quarterfinals in Madrid.

2

0 for the First 2 From the Big 4

Carrying the expectations of the ATP’s “Big 4” has largely fallen on the shoulders of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, with Roger Federer and Andy Murray working their way back to action. It was expected that Nadal or Djokovic would be the heavy favorites in any clay-court tournament they entered, but they were both denied a shot at the title in Monte Carlo, while Nadal was stopped in Madrid. Their losses marked the first time a member of the Big 4 didn’t win at least one of the first two Masters events on clay since 2003.

3

Rome’s Hometown Hero

If you put Gael Monfils, Roberto Bautista-Agut, Andrey Rublev and Dominic Thiem in one section of a draw at a Masters tournament, surely one of them will battle through to the semifinals, right? Apparently, not if Lorenzo Sonego is lurking around there, too. In Rome this week, the Italian defeated three of them on his way to the semifinals, showing how much playing at home and a steadily improving game can do for your prospects, no matter the level of competition.

4

Tsitsipas Shines

With multiple Grand Slam semifinals and an ATP Finals crown under his belt, Stefanos Tsitsipas entered 2021 as arguably the best player without a Masters 1000 tournament triumph. That all changed for the Greek in Monte Carlo. Though he didn’t face Nadal or Djokovic along the way, he handily dispatched the players that defeated them and didn’t drop a set over the course of the week.

5

An ‘Evo-lution’ of Sorts

Any observer of the game could be forgiven if they didn’t expect much of Daniel Evans during the clay-court swing, considering the Englishman had only won a handful of matches on the surface in his career. However, he proved any naysayers wrong by advancing to the semifinals in Monte Carlo, with his run including a win over none other than Djokovic.