It’s rare a result really pops out at me, but this one did.
First of all, in 2025, what are either of these two doing in a Clay 1000 QF?
Mind, Monte Carlo is seen as the step child of the 1000 family with rumors circulating now and then of it being demoted. Historically, it’s often been quite badly attended by the very top players, often American and often avoiding clay anyway, due to its proximity to the end of the long early season hard court swing.
Back to the result. Whatever Monte Carlo’s status is, it is a 1000 event and thus prestigious.
This result really signified to me the demise of the clay court game and the old school clay court player, grinder some might say, who built up their ranking points and prize money between April and June each season.
With the homogenisation of the game and the resulting standardisation of the typical pro player, the clay grinder is gone, those long names you struggled to pronounce but whose endurance and point construction made you grin, and so, if this result is anything to go by, so is the clay game itself.
De Minaur is a fine player, and it goes without saying Dimitrov is, too. And to some degree, De Minaur does have grinding elements to his game, and he’s quick. But he doesn’t have the power of a clay courter and he doesn’t have the finesse needed to break up those long points and make something else happen. Now, De Minaur, one of the tour’s hardest workers and likeable players but still a guy whose best clay result should be a QF at most, has a clay 1000 SF on his resume.
And then Dimitrov. He does have the all round game and touch to do well on Clay. But in 2025? This is the best the game can give us. I mean, I’m happy to see this charming guy anywhere, however, in 2025, I’d imagine there would be a fresher up and comer getting these results?
Ageism is not attractive, I know, and you might say that this result is testament to the player’s tenacity and spirit, and Di Minaur and Dimitrov reaching the QFs of a Clay 1000 isn’t that shocking considering their pedigree.
But this result is, I am afraid.
Let’s look at the other QFs:
Alcaraz defeats Fils in three sets.
This one is pretty healthy. The second seed was always likely to get his act together come the clay, and Fils is one of those fresher faces I alluded to earlier.
Musetti d. Tsitispas in 3.
Again, the kind of result we want to see. Musetti is a Dimitrov, and also a Tsitsipas, type. The mercurial talent who thrives wherever they happen to be inspired that day. Tsitsipas is a great player in Monte Carlo, too.
Davidiovich Fokina d. Popyrin in 2.
ADF, another huge, erratic talent, beating a fresh up and comer with a nice resume. A right result on paper and in reality, too.
Looking at those results, they suggest the game, on Clay, isn’t in that bad shape.
Nevertheless, this De Minaur destruction of Dimitrov is a stand out and though the game may be in fairly good shape, if we ever needed evidence of surface homogenisation and the death of the claycourter, we have the only exhibit we really needed.
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