Ricky Dimon

• Top 25 French Open Contenders: Part 3

  2010-05-17 23:25:55
  

  From now until the start of the French Open, Ricky will be counting down the Top 25 biggest threats on the red clay of Roland Garros in groups of one, two, or three players. Part 3 features contenders 17-19.

   

  19. Juan Monaco – Pros: Monaco is an absolute force on clay; in fact, he was the clay-court wins leader is the 2009. He has not been quite as impressive on the slow stuff this year, but he still posted a runner-up and two semifinal performances during the South American swing. Monaco has never made serious headlines at the French Open, but he reached the fourth round in 2007 (it is also worth noting that he had to play Robin Soderling in the 2008 first round and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in last year’s second round).

   

  Cons: Monaco’s February clay-court stats perhaps suggested bigger and better things to come during the more important April and May swing. Instead, the Argentine did not do a whole lot. He lost in the first round in Barcelona, the second round in Monte-Carlo and Rome, and the third round in Madrid (blown out by Nicolas Almagro, although Monaco is better in slower conditions than fast). He won’t be going into Roland Garros with a ton of confidence.

   

  Bottom line: Prior to his Madrid loss to Almagro, Monaco absolutely destroyed Thomaz Bellucci, so that should count for something. It might not be enough to earn him a Top 24 seed, but it will be close. If he can get a Top 24 seed, I expect Monaco to make his second career appearance in the French Open fourth round. And the quarterfinals are well within reach.

   

  18. Marin Cilic – Pros: Cilic is one of the finest all-court players in tennis. Sure, clay is his worst surface, but an all-court player he remains. After all, he reached the French Open fourth round last year, which included demolitions of Dudi Sela and Radek Stepanek prior to bowing out against Andy Murray. The 6’6’’ Croat did nothing in this season’s clay-court Masters events, but he recently finished runner-up in Munich, where he scored a nice win over Nicolas Almagro and battled Mikhail Youzhny in a competitive three-set final.

   

  Cons: While his 2009 result was encouraging, Cilic is still a relative novice in Paris. He qualified in 2007 before losing in the first round and went out in the second round a year later. His Masters showings this season do not point to a Roland Garros breakout later this month. Cilic fell in the Rome second round and in the third rounds in both Monte-Carlo and Madrid. This will prevent him from getting a Top 8 seed, and that hurts just a bit.

   

  Bottom line: Cilic is one of the games brightest young stars and he is not afraid of the big stage; his fourth-round upset of Murray at last year’s U.S. Open was one of the biggest upsets in 2009. Anything less than fourth-round performance in Paris would be a disappointment, and even though he won’t be Top 8, reaching the quarters or even the semis (if he is in a quarter with, say, Murray or Djokovic) is not out of the question.

   

  17. Fernando Gonzalez – Pros: Even at 29 years old, Gonzalez remains one of the best players in the business, especially on clay. He reached the French Open semifinals just last year and was two games away from making it to his second Grand Slam final before Robin Soderling stormed back for the victory. Gonzalez has not been playing a lot of tennis recently, so he could be ready to do some serious damage (again) if he is 100 percent for Roland Garros.

   

  Cons: After a great 2009 campaign and a solid start to 2010, Gonzalez suddenly had to deal with Chile’s devastating earthquake and he has done absolutely nothing (in terms of tennis results) since. He lost early in Miami and Houston and his lone European clay-court result was an opening loss to someone named Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Barcelona. Gonzalez has been out with a knee injury since that loss to ARV, so he will not be going into Paris with any kind of confidence. It also means he is nowhere near getting one of the Top 8 seeds.

   

  Bottom line: Gonzalez could go out in the first round (or worse, withdraw) or he could make it all the way to the final (aside from Rafael Nadal, there is nobody Gonzalez can’t beat on clay). It all depends on his mental and physical health. With his forehand, he can get hot at any moment and simply run over people. If he can get a few easy matches under his belt during the first week of Roland Garros, a return trip to the semifinals is possible. But that’s a BIG "if."

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