No. 22 Kei Nishikori, +14
Nishikori showed that he is well on his way to returning to the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings with his run to the final of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (l. to Nadal). The former World No. 4 was unseeded in the Principality, but battled his way through the draw with four three-set wins in five matches en route to the final.
Read More: Nishikori: ‘I’m Almost There’
The Japanese right-hander beat No. 18 Tomas Berdych, Sydney International titlist Daniil Medvedev and Italian Andreas Seppi to reach the quarter-finals, where Nishikori had to raise his level and he did. The 28-year-old fought past two Top 5 opponents – Marin Cilic and Alexander Zverev – to make his fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final.
No. 3 Alexander Zverev, +1
The German celebrated his 21stbirthday by clinching his best finish yet in Monte-Carlo. Zverev outlasted Frenchman Richard Gasquet in three sets to make the semi-finals (l. to Nishikori) and guarantee his return to his career-high position in the ATP Rankings of No. 3.
After a slow start to the Masters 1000 season in Indian Wells (l. to Joao Sousa, R2), Zverev, a two-time Masters 1000 titlist (2017 Rome, Montreal) has returned to regular proceedings by reaching the Miami Open presented by Itau final (l. to Isner) and the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo.
No. 29 Richard Gasquet, +5
The Frenchman appeared healthy and able to produce some of his best tennis in Monte-Carlo, which is especially encouraging for Gasquet, who endured a frustrating number of stops and starts in 2017. Gasquet missed the first five Masters 1000 tournaments last year due to appendicitis surgery and a back injury.
But in Monte-Carlo, the 31-year-old right-hander dropped only three games against then-No. 15 Diego Schwartzman, before defeating German Mischa Zverev, Alexander’s older brother, for his 500thvictory, becoming the first Frenchman to achieve the milestone.
Tribute: Gasquet, ‘Le Monsieur’, Reaches Elite Status With 500th Win
No. 35 Philipp Kohlschreiber, +5
The German veteran again showed his clay-court prowess in Monte-Carlo. Kohlschreiber, who has won six of his eight titles on clay, beat Houston finalist Tennys Sandgren of the U.S. and 2017 finalist Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain to make the third round (l. to Dimitrov).
No. 55 Andreas Seppi, +7
The Italian was a home favourite for the Monte-Carlo faithful, and he did not disappoint. The 34-year-old qualified by beating #NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur and Marcel Granollers of Spain. Seppi then showed the form that helped him beat Alexander Zverev in Rotterdam earlier this year. The Italian eliminated Marrakech finalist Kyle Edmund of Great Britain and Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez before falling to Nishikori in the third round.
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