Welcome to Rafa's World

If anyone thought that they'd seen the end of Rafael Nadal last year, they were wrong. Not only is the Spanish bull back but he's playing better than ever. Nadal's display at this years Monte Carlo Masters could be catalogued as the best clay court performance in the history of the game.

Let's recall Rafa's devastating route to the title: 1st Round def. De Bakker 6/1 6/0, 2nd Round def. Berrer 6/0 6/1, Quarter-Finals def. Ferrero 6/4 6/2, Semi-Finals def. Ferrer 6/2 6/3 and Final def. Verdasco 6/0 6/1.

That's a total of 10 sets won and none lost, 60 games won and 14 lost. Simply brutal. Before the final Verdasco's big shots seemed like they could cause some damage, maybe he'd be the first person to really take the game to Nadal but it is ever so disheartening to play against a human wall. Everything comes back and it comes back with bad intentions.

So after the first week of top class clay court tennis we can come to certain conclusions: The Spanish Armada is as powerful as ever taking up three of the four semi-finals spots, David Nalbandian could well be on the road to recovery, Juan Carlos Ferrero can go far in upcoming draws as long as he avoids Nadal, Verdasco has finally broken the quarter-final barrier and it's going to take something very special to stop Rafa from taking back his crown at Roland Garros.

The Return Of The Prodigal Son

Monte Carlo has almost always meant good news for Richard Gasquet. He won his first professional match there at the tender age of 15, defeating the experimented clay courter Franco Squillari. He ultimately made a name for himself defeating Roger Federer in the 2005 quarter-finals in what was a match to remember.

It seemed that the only way was up from there but Gasquet has had all sorts of problems which have denied the frenchmen's place at the very top of the game. The drugs incident and the pressure created by French media have all been mentioned far too much. It is now time to start from zero, with Tsonga, Monfils and Simon all enjoying success the spotlight has shifted and Gasquet can start to play for himself.

His ranking is at 73 but he is making steady progress, without making much noise and that is how he likes it. Nothing is better than to be regarded the underdog.

For the sake of tennis, we hope Richard Gasquet finds his place amongst the elite. In an era of big serving and heavy hitting watching the frenchmen play is refreshing. Not the tallest of players nor the strongest, Gasquet depends on his guile and touch to defeat opponents. He possesses one of the best single hand backhands to have ever been seen and can play drop shots from anywhere on the court, not forgetting his soft hands at the net.

With talent like that, it seems the sky is the limit for Gasquet, but really his mind is the limit. He decides where he wants to be, a privilege for any elite sportsman but it can also be a burden for the weak minded.

This week will tell us whether Gasquet is on the road to recovery or if we have lost a magician of the courts.

Expect The Unexpected

If there is one thing we have come to get used to in these first Masters 1000 events of the season, that is to expect the unexpected. Few times have we seen back to back winners at Indian Wells and Miami and this year was no exception. Firstly Ivan Ljubicic rolled back the years to claim his first Masters 1000 title and now Andy Roddick has found some compensation for his hard work.

To see Roddick winning isn't a huge surprise as his game has grown ever more consistent and his backhand is no longer a weakness. What is surprising is to see Novak Djokovic (lost to Olivier Rochus) and Andy Murray (lost to Mardy Fish) fall at the first of asking. In the next round Roger Federer continued his indifferent form as Tomas Berdych got the better of him in a roller coaster 3 setter.

Rafael Nadal was, once again, the only top 4 player to reach the semi finals. This time the Spaniard had no answer for Roddick's big serve and, worryingly so, seemed to not be happy with his knees. Hopefully these complaints had nothing to do with those injuries that left the superstar out of action for long periods of time last year.

Now the claycourt season is upon us. This is a chance for the likes of Djokovic, Murray and Federer to get things back on track. Also, a chance to see where Rafa's game really is at. Our men to look out for in the claycourt season are: Nicolas Almagro, immense natural ability but not the mental strength to go with it, after a good run in the US, maybe it is time for the man from Murcia to fulfil his potential. Juan Carlos Ferrero, the mosquito has already won two events on the red stuff in South America and seems to be finding that form that took him to Number 1. And our outsider pick is Fabio Fognini of Italy, another young talent who hasn't seemed to break through. His form this season hasn't been anything to write home about but now he's back on his favourite surface and could cause more than one upset.

Whatever happens, we'll keep you posted here on ATP Review.