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After two months of hard-court play in North America, it can be jarring to watch the pros ply their trades on the slow surface that will consume the next two months of the tour calendar. And after two months of comfortable afternoon viewing windows in places like Long Island, Indian Wells and Miami, this European clay-court stretch will test any fan's devotion to the game—the first ball of play at the Monte Carlo Masters is struck at 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT.
It will be worth setting your alarms early on Tuesday, however, because the day's first match might be its best. It features two players we could be hearing a lot from over the next few years, on both hard and clay courts. Andrey Rublev, who at 19 made his way to the US Open quarterfinals last year, was likely ready for the surface switch, having lost his last five matches on hard courts, including at a home Davis Cup tie to world No. 195 Dennis Novak. The 33rd-ranked Rublev took a step towards putting that stretch behind him with a 7-6 (7), 2-6, 7-5 first-round win over veteran Robin Haase in Monte Carlo.
The win also earned Rublev a match with Dominic Thiem, the No. 5 seed at this Masters 1000 tournament—and, arguably, the second-best clay-court player in the world. A semifinalist at Roland Garros each of the past two years, Thiem's torque-heavy groundstrokes and high-bouncing shots play right into clay's distinct qualities. The change in court was also likely welcome for Thiem—his impressive 17-4 mark includes an 8-1 record on clay, including a title in Buenos Aires. The 24-year-old also suffered a small ankle fracture at Indian Wells and withdrew from the Miami hard-court Masters tournament.
HIGHLIGHTS—Thiem wins the 2018 Argentina Open: