Do watch brands see yellow gold in the tennis balls hitting the courts of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 throughout the year? As we will see in detail this week, of the ten best men’s tennis players in the current world ranking present in Monaco from April 9th to compete against thirty or so others, eight are sponsored by a watch brand. Audemars Piguet has opted for Switzerland with Stan Wawrinka, while Bovet and Richard Mille lean towards Spain with David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal respectively. Seiko has secured the services of the current world number one Novak Djokovic, TAG Heuer targets the Land of the Rising Sun with Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori, while Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fly the flag of the tournament sponsor and Andy Murray that of Rado. Among the top ten in action in Monte Carlo, only Richard Gasquet has no watch brand sponsor. Thomas Berdych, well known for being a keen watch lover – as confirmed by the Patek Philippe Nautilus and the Panerai Luminor models he has been seen sporting on holiday pictures appearing on his Instagram account – has recently appeared in a photoshoot for the new watches presented by Felio Siby.
One record after another…
The record for Masters 1000 singles titles is currently held by Novak Djokovic (28 titles) ahead of Rafael Nadal (27 titles) and Roger Federer (24 titles). The number 1,000 in Masters 1000 refers to the number of points collection by the winner of the tournament (compared with 600 for the other finalist and only 10 for a first-round match). These are the most prestigious tournaments after the four Grand Slam events. This year, Novak Djokovic has already chalked up 2,000 points in the first two fixtures on the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 calendar, Indian Wells and Miami. Since the start of the year, according to the official ATP website, the world number one has won a total of four tournaments (including two that were not Masters 1000) in 28 match wins, thereby raking in 4.6 million dollars in prize money. He has in fact reached a total of 98 million dollars in on-court earnings since the start of his career, a million more than Roger Federer!
The Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters will be followed by Masters 1000 tournaments in Madrid, Rome, Toronto, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris. Apart from Monte-Carlo, participation in the eight other Masters 1000 tournaments is mandatory for any players with a high enough ranking, and failure to comply with this regulation entails financial penalties. After the Seiko-TAG Heuer final in Miami at the end of March, which brands will be facing off in Monte-Carlo next week? Enjoy a daily look at the watches worn by players supported by WorldTempus partner brands.
