(Monte-Carlo) One, Stefanos Tsitsipas, returned to clay with relish; the other, Daniil Medvedev, with revulsion. But both are aiming for the crown on Sunday at the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo.

“It’s always a pleasure to return to the season on clay, it’s one of the most fascinating periods of the season. To be at home, to start the season on gravel in Monte-Carlo which is my favorite place on earth…”, the Greek, double defending champion and 3^e worldwide, has no words to express his pleasure before entering the competition.

“Are there really players who like to be dirty after playing on clay? I do not like ! After playing on dirt, you can throw the socks away because you wash them and there is still dirt in them,” laments the Russian (5^e).

Winner of the 2021 United States Open with his flat game and his balls that shoot like a laser, he also castigates the unpredictability of the rebounds on the crushed brick.

“I trained with Holger Rune (before the start of the tournament, editor’s note) and, in one game, he made four barely correct serves, but there were four false rebounds and I missed four times. I don’t think it’s normal for there to be false bounces on a tennis court. Some like it, I don’t! “, he insisted.

For Tsitsipas, who played a final on the ground of Roland-Garros (2021) and one this year on the hard of the Australian Open, it’s the opposite: what he doesn’t like is the uniformity, according to him artificial, of the hard courts.

“The best tennis”

“I’m super happy to be playing on a natural surface again. We’ve been grinding on these hard courts for quite a long time and I find it refreshing to be back on a natural surface like clay. It is on this surface that we practice the best tennis, it is good for everyone, for injuries, for the body, and it is one of the best surfaces to practice exciting tennis “, argues- he.

It must be said that since his title at the end-of-year Masters (2019) played on hard indoors, it is on ocher that he has won his two biggest tournaments (out of 9 titles in total), in this case in Monte-Carlo in 2021 and 2022.

On the contrary, none of Medvedev’s 19 titles have been won on clay: 18, including the 2020 Masters, have been on hard courts and one on Mallorca in 2021.

“On hard courts, I’m able to analyze what I’m doing wrong during a point. On land, sometimes I feel like I’m doing the right thing and I get destroyed, ”explains the Russian.

On hard, “everything is based on the serve and the first ball. Me, what I like is the strategic and tactical side of clay, ”retorts Tsitsipas.

On clay, “you can always make a small mistake, defend and come back in the exchange”, he specifies.

“Continue on hard”

The two arrive in Monte-Carlo with opposite trajectories. Tsitsipas has won just three matches on the tour since his Australian Open final, when Medvedev, who had only reached the third round in Melbourne where he was the outgoing runner-up, then chained the titles in Rotterdam , Doha, Dubai, a half in Indian Wells and again a title in Miami.

“I would have liked to continue on hard! “Launches the Russian who, while acknowledging that he has fewer ambitions on earth, wants to believe in his chances on this misunderstood surface.

“I find it much more difficult to express my full potential on clay than on hard courts. However, I know that I am able to play well anyway. Once, in Monte-Carlo, I beat Tsitsipas and Djokovic in the same tournament… So I will try to do well and maybe I will win a title on clay, who knows? “Launches the player who had also climbed into the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros in 2021. He was then beaten by Tsitsipas.

Logically, the latter displays his ambitions more directly in Monte-Carlo. “I’m aiming for the treble,” he asserts.

It is not the subject of the surface that will bring these two players closer together. So we hope to see them battle it out on the court.