Monte-Carlo Masters 2024: 5 favorites to win the men's singles title ft. Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic

Top players on the ATP Tour will come together to partake in the Monte-Carlo Masters. The clay swing's first Masters 1000 tournament will take place from April 7-14, 2024.

Andrey Rublev is the defending champion but his chances of going all the way this time are a little shaky. He seems to have hit a roadblock after a strong start to the season and made early exits from his last two tournaments. Last year's runner-up Holger Rune has been inconsistent all year long too.

Rafael Nadal, the most successful player in the history of the tournament, unfortunately had to withdraw due to health issues. All top 10 players are set to compete, led by Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz.

A few players have easily outperformed the rest of the tour so far and are the frontrunners to emerge victorious here as well. So here's a look at the leading title contenders for the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters:

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#5 - Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev is the fifth seed at the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters.

Zverev has been among one of the tour's most consistent performers this season. He won the United Cup with his fellow Germans, reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and the Miami Open, and was a quarterfinalist at Indian Wells too.

A first-round exit from the Mexican Open remains the only blot in a pretty decent strong run from Zverev. While he's a two-time semifinalist at the Monte-Carlo Masters, it remains the only Masters tournament on clay that he's yet to win.

Zverev has won the Madrid Open twice and the Italian Open once. He's a pretty solid player on clay and in good form this year, so it wouldn't be too surprising to see him complete the clay Masters trifecta by winning the title here.

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#4 - Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev is the fourth seed at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

By this time last year, Medvedev had won four titles. While he came quite close to nabbing some silverware this season, he fell just shy of a total victory. He lost the Australian Open final against Jannik Sinner despite being up by two sets to love.

Medvedev also finished as the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at the Indian Wells Masters for the second year in a row. He made it to the semifinals in Dubai and Miami as well.

Medvedev has performed fairly well at the Monte-Carlo Masters in the past. He bowed out of the tournament in the quarterfinals last year and was eliminated in the semifinals prior to that.

While Medvedev doesn't relish playing on clay, he finally won his first title on the surface at last year's Italian Open. The Russian hasn't lost prior to the semifinals this season. If he continues to improve on the red dirt, he could finally claim his first title of the year here.

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#3 - Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz is the third seed at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

The Monte-Carlo Masters is the only tournament where Alcaraz has yet to register a win. He was knocked out of the tournament in his opener back in 2022, his only prior appearance here so far.

The young Spaniard has won just one title this year, which was at the Indian Wells Masters. In the last couple of years, he had already won a title on clay prior to the start of the European clay season.

However, Alcaraz's time during the South American clay swing wasn't as fruitful this year. His title defense at the Argentina Open concluded in the semifinals and his Rio Open campaign was cut short after he sustained an injury during his first-round match.

Nevertheless, Alcaraz has a great track record on the surface. Of his 13 career titles, seven have been on clay. He's too good to not improve on his record in Monte Carlo and is more than capable of laying his hands on the winner's trophy.

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#2 - Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic is the top seed at the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters.

This has been a below-par season for Djokovic by his usual standards. His title defense at the Australian Open came to an end in the semifinals against Sinner. He returned to action at the Indian Wells Masters but was stunned by Luca Nardi in the third round.

This marks just the fourth occasion that Djokovic hasn't won a title by the start of the clay swing in April. While 2005 and 2006 were the early stages of his career, he dealt with fitness and form issues in 2018. 2022 was an exception as he wasn't allowed to compete in tournaments due to the vaccine mandate in place at that time.

But one thing that Djokovic has done exceptionally well in his career is to bounce back after a setback in spectacular fashion. He's a two-time champion at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

The Serb hasn't enjoyed tremendous success here since his last title in 2015. However, he's always eager to prove himself despite his numerous accomplishments. This tournament could end up being his phoenix rising from the ashes moment after a slow start to the year.

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#1 - Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner at the 2024 Miami Open.

Sinner concluded the past season on a strong note and raised his level even further this year. He captured his maiden Major crown at the Australian Open and staged an incredible comeback in the final to do so as well.

Sinner bagged his second title of the year in Rotterdam but his winning ways came to an end at Indian Wells at the hands of Alcaraz in the semifinals. He got back on track immediately as he captured his third title of the season at the Miami Open.

With a 22-1 record for the year, Sinner is the player to beat and the ultimate favorite to win the title. He has steadily improved his record at the Monte-Carlo Masters as well.

Sinner lost in the second round upon his debut in 2021 but made it to the quarterfinals the following year. He then went a step further last year with a semifinal finish and given his form this year, a title isn't out of the question.