The 7 men with the most Monte Carlo Masters match wins: Rafael Nadal 34 ahead of Novak Djokovic
The Monte Carlo Masters is one of the most prestigious titles in tennis, and several of the game’s greats have found success at the tournament.
Here, we look at the seven Open Era greats to record the most Monte Carlo match victories.
7) Ilie Nastase – 27
One of the most successful players of the early 1970s, Nastase was a three-time Monte Carlo champion and won 27 matches at the event.
The Romanian’s most successful run was 19 straight wins from 1971-74, winning the title for three straight years before making a fourth consecutive final in 1974 – losing to Andrew Pattison.
Nastase’s 27th and final match win came almost a decade later in 1983, beating Cassio Motta – though his final appearance came in 1985.
6) Guillermo Vilas – 28
Clay court great Vilas was a two-time Monte Carlo champion and reached a further two finals at the tournament, cementing his place in tournament history across the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The Argentine won 28 matches at the tournament during his career, starting with four wins on his way to the title in his event debut in 1976, beating Wojtek Fibak in the final.
Vilas then won a second title six years later in 1982 – a third straight final at the time – and sealed his last Monte Carlo Masters match win in 1987, defeating Eliot Teltscher.
5) Roger Federer – 30
Federer holds a dubious place in Monte Carlo history as the man to record the most match wins without ever winning the title.
The Swiss reached the final on four separate occasions, beaten by Rafael Nadal in three straight finals from 2006-08 before a loss to compatriot Stan Wawrinka in 2014.
However, Federer remains one of just five men to win 30+ matches in Monte Carlo, hitting his 30th match win in his final tournament appearance back in 2016.
4) Juan Carlos Ferrero – 31
Back in Monte Carlo this year as Carlos Alcaraz’s coach, former world No 1 Ferrero will hope that his charge can discover the same magic he did at the Masters 1000 event.
The Spaniard claimed back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003, beating Carlos Moya and Guillermo Coria in his finals, and reached further semi-finals in 2005 and 2007.
Ferrero won 31 matches in Monte Carlo, making it by far and away his most successful event at Masters 1000 level – and ranking him fourth in the tournament’s history.
3) Thomas Muster – 32
A defining clay-courter of the 1990s, Muster is one of just five men to have won at least three Monte Carlo Masters titles in the Open Era.
The Austrian lifted the title for the first time in 1992 and, at the very peak of his powers, claimed back-to-back titles in 1995 and 1996.
Having also reached the final back in 1990, former world No 1 Muster amassed 32 match wins from 1986-99 – the third-most of the Open Era.
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2) Novak Djokovic – 39
Monte Carlo has not been Djokovic’s happiest hunting ground in recent seasons, with the Serbian having not reached the final since 2015.
However, he was the champion that year and first lifted the title in 2013, having reached further finals in both 2009 and 2012.
Since his tournament debut back in 2006, Djokovic has won an impressive 39 matches in Monte Carlo – a total that only a certain Spaniard can beat.
1) Rafael Nadal – 73
To the surprise of no one, Nadal is clear of the rest of the field in Monte Carlo – with a staggering 73 match victories to his name at the event.
The Spaniard won two matches on his tournament debut in 2003 but, after skipping the event in 2005, would win a staggering 46 straight matches from the start of 2005.
That run saw him win eight straight titles and reach a ninth consecutive final in 2013, where he suffered a rare tournament defeat to Djokovic.
Nadal returned to title-winning ways in Monte Carlo in 2016, and a run of three straight titles from then until 2018 helped boost his tally.
His 76th and final win came over Grigor Dimitrov in 2021.
