Clay Court Preview: Top 30 Men

We can’t believe it, but the 2018 clay court season is in full swing in Houston. To get ready for the 2018 season, Team UTR took a look at the Clay UTRs of the men’s players to quantify player performance and history on the surface. Of course, ten-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal is the clay court GOAT with a 16.50 Clay UTR. Due to a leg injury, Rafa hasn’t been on the court since the Australian Open so it will be interesting to see if that affects his game. Assuming he is healthy, Rafa is the one to beat on clay. Dominic Thiem has proved himself to be another clay-court specialist, coming off of a strong 2017 clay season with a 16.01 Clay UTR. We’ll see if he’s able to recover quickly from the ankle injury that caused his withdrawal from the Miami Open. Thiem has made no secret of his desire to win at Roland-Garros, so provided he’s back to full strength, he’s poised to have a great clay court season. Hyeon Chung (Clay UTR 15.86) and Filip Krajinovic (Clay UTR 15.92) are young players whose Clay UTRs are higher than their overall UTRs. Both are nimble, adaptable players who have built great momentum during hard-court play this season, and can carry this confidence onto the clay courts. Stefanos Tsitsipas has been the subject of media attention not for his play, but for his heated words with Daniil Medvedev during the first round of the Miami Open. But the 19-year old Greek has been playing strong this year and is a fierce competitor on clay with a Clay UTR of 15.80 (regular UTR 15.42). If he can keep his composure, he’s poised to make a big jump this year. Check out our list of the Top-30 Men’s Clay Court players: