The first big clay-court tournament, Monte Carlo Masters, is about to kick off the season on clay next week. Rafael Nadal is undoubtedly still the ‘King of Clay’ despite his loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinal at the French Open last year. Meanwhile, once deemed the second-best player on clay, Dominic Thiem has been out of action for a long period. Recently, he made his return to the tennis court at Marbella challenger. Previously, he was all set to play at the Monte Carlo Open. While he has recovered from Covid, as a part of precautionary measure, he will return to Austria and will miss the first Masters 1000 event on clay.

Dominic Thiem to miss the Monte Carlo Masters

After returning to the Marbella Challenger, the Austrian didn’t look the same as before. He lost in the practice match against Stan Wawrinka. Then, he lost his first match at the Marbella Open as well. Later, he announced another bad news to his fans that he had a positive covid test. 

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Recently, he announced that he tested negative for Covid and will be ready to get back on track. Despite that, he will not be able to play at the Monte Carlo Masters. According to recent reports, Lorenzo Musetti will replace him in the main draw. 

However, the negative result for his recent Covid test will give him a massive relief ahead of the French Open. Earlier he wrote on Twitter, “Hey guys! I hope you’re all well! A short update: I am finally negative and I feel much better! Thank you for all your messages! I really appreciate it!… I’m going to have a medical check-up, so I can get back on track!… I wish you all a nice Thursday!”

Right now, he could still play at the Madrid Open and the Rome Masters as warm-up tournaments in the lead-up to the French Open. However, it remains to be seen how the Austrian fares once he makes a comeback.

Other top players are preparing for the Monte Carlo 

Along with Thiem, 3-time Grand Slam winner, Stan Wawrinka is also making a comeback after a long-term injury. Incidentally, he also lost his first match at the Marbella Challenger. He should be aiming to make a mark at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Apart from Wawrinka, Novak Djokovic will also feature in this tournament, which will be his only second tournament this year. Other players, like Gael Monfils, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Felix Auger Aliassime, and others will also play at the tournament. 

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