Just a few hours remain before we have our 2017 Monte Carlo champion. To look back at the best moments which were witnessed at this court, we give you the top 5 finals at Monte-Carlo Masters. It shouldn’t come as a surprise when some of them were those played by Rafael Nadal. We have undoubtedly seen the absolute best from this man here. Here are the Top five Monte Carlo Masters finals in recent history !
2016: Rafael Nadal defeated Gael Monfils, 7-5, 5-7, 6-0
This marked his 9th triumph on this clay court, which was the return of Rafael Nadal who had stayed dormant for the last 4 years. And this is what made the victory so special. We know it’s this man who can fight every injury and affliction and still stand to win yet another ATP Masters title.
Nadal defeated Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray on his way to the finals. The match was amazing but the amazingness came from the fans’ anticipation of whether their favorite player could do the unthinkable.
2006: Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
This marked the start of the epic rivalry between the two legends who transformed the sport. Roger Federer might overshadow Nadal with most of his tennis achievements, but not on this turf. This is all for Nadal. The friction and aggression was noticeable.
It was the first and the best of the Nadal-Federer finals at Monte Carlo from 2006 to 2008. Nadal won all three contests, but the 2006 was the most important of those. It was the last time the event would require best of five sets for the final, and Nadal split two tiebreakers and won the other two sets decisively.
Nadal’s confidence was boosted by his French Open victory in 2005 and after winning this title he never looked back. He was on his path to become the eventual King of Clay.
2005: Rafael Nadal defeated Guillermo Coria, 6-3, 6-1, 0-6, 7-5
It was the beginning of a phenomenon. Nadal had his first victory this year. He was a fledgling player in the time dominated by the legends like Roger Federer.
He made his statement by annihilating the 2004 French Open finalists Gaston Gaudio and Guillermo Coria with new-age retrieving and offensive topspin. Nadal used his sliding serve to great effect and was extremely comfortable taking the return of serve early. He thereby defeated the defending champion. The title undoubtedly gave Nadal the confidence to outlast Coria in the Rome final just weeks later and then run through Federer in the French Open semifinals.
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2000: Cédric Pioline defeated Dominik Hrbatý, 6–4, 7–6 (3), 7–6 (6)
Cédric had reached the finals of Monte-Carlo twice in the years 1998 and 1993 but was defeated by Carlos Moya and Sergei Bruguera respectively. This year he came back stronger and showed the fans a fantastic display of tennis, it was a treat.
Hrbaty was the crowd’s favourite after he defeated the top seeded, Australian Open runner-up, 1999 Stuttgart, Montreal titlist Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Hrbarty was an unstoppable force. It took Pioline two tie breakers to silence this force.
1995: Thomas Muster defeated Boris Becker, 4–6, 5–7, 6–1, 7–6 (6), 6–0
The legendary Boris Becker and former World champion was always denied the Monte Carlo title. A fate he shares with fellow legends Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. This was Becker’s third finals and third loss. Becker, one of the most effective players in his era on grass courts and carpet courts, had less success on clay. He never won a top-level singles title on clay, coming closest when holding two match points against Thomas Muster in the final of the 1995.
The ninth seeded Thomas Muster became the underdog the crowd cheered for against the second seeded Becker. Muster thereby won his second Monte-Carlo title after the grueling 5 set match. It showed the best individual performances by the two players.
