The clay court season has moved into top gear with the start of the Monte-Carlos Masters, but who will be the kings of clay for 2025?
This compelling phase of the tennis year will conclude with the French Open in Paris at the start of June, but so many stories will be written between now and then.
The ATP 1000 events in Madrid and Rome will dominate the build-up to the second Grand Slam of 2025, with the seedings for that major in Paris potentially playing a big role in the final outcome.
Here is our prediction for the top eight seeds at the French Open:
1. Jannik Sinner
Currently serving a three-month suspension for a doping violation, Sinner is set to return in front of his Italian fans at the Rome Masters next month.
His lead at the top of the ATP Rankings has not been impacted by his absence from the game, with nearest rivals Alexander Zverev and Carls Alcaraz failing to eat into his rankings lead over the last few weeks.
2. Carlos Alcaraz
The Spanish star admitted he was struggling with his focus as he crashed out of the Miami Open in his opening match against David Goffin, but he has a huge chance to climb back up to No 2 in the ATP Rankings ahead of the French Open.
Alcaraz is defending French Open champion and at home on clay courts, so he will fancy his chances of making progress in Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome and he has limited ranking points to defend after injury worries at this time last year.
3. Alexander Zverev
The German big-hitter has 2,550 ranking points to defend in this clay court season from 2024, with most of them coming from his win at the Rome Masters and a run to the French Open final last year.
Zverev has to be worried about his form heading into this clay court season as he struggled on the surface in tournaments in South America and was then below his best at the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments. He needs to find his form quickly to avoid losing the No 2 ranking he currently holds.
4. Novak Djokovic
With Djokovic playing more tournaments in 2025, he has a great chance to get back into the top four of the rankings in time for the French Open and Wimbledon.
That could be crucial to his ambitions of winning a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title, as it could ensure he would avoid a meeting with Sinner or Alcaraz until the semi-finals.
5. Jack Draper
Indian Wells champion Draper is up to No 6 in the ATP Rankings this week, which is a new career high.
He has limited points to defend on clay over the next few weeks and while it may be his least favourite surface, Draper is a big presence in the top 10 of the men’s game and he has a chance to get into the top 5 in time for the French Open.
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6. Taylor Fritz
The current world No 4 has a solid 2024 season on clay, reaching the final in an ATP 500 event in Munich and the semi-final of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid.
He also reached the last eight in Rome and that means he has to match those efforts on his least favourite surface to stay in the top four. Given his recent form, that looks unlikely.
7. Caper Ruud
Last year’s Barcelona Open champion has plenty of points to defend from the 2024 clay court swing, but he is a class act on this surface.
His ability to get the ball back into court on the red clay makes him a tough opponent to beat and he could be in the top eight by the time we get to Roland Garros.
8. Alex de Minaur
The Australian may not be at home on clay, but Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev will be dropping plenty of ranking points off their records after ATP 1000 wins on clay last year and that should open a door for De Minaur to step into the top eight for the French Open.
He is a stronger player than he was a year ago and should be able to adapt to clay.
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