Rafael Nadal returns to actions though fans won’t be present at next week’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Nadal will play his second tournament of the season and first since bowing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
More: Nadal Visits Academy Construction
Eleven-time Monte-Carlo champion Nadal will be eager to regain the Monte-Carlo championship he last held in 2018. The draw will be held on Friday.
Since 2005 only three men not named Nadal have won Monte-Carlo: Novak Djokovic (2013), Stan Wawrinka (2014) and reigning champion Fabio Fognini, who raised the title in 2019. The tournament was not contested last year due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Monte-Carlo will be played behind closed doors. Players have the option of staying in the official tournament hotel or staying in private homes as several stars, including Djokovic, world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, who maintain residences in Monte-Carlo and will be permitted to sleep in their owns beds.
Photo credit: Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters