Thursday’s showdown is simply going to be a baseline slugfest. It will be a test between Almagro’s lethal one-handed backhand against Andreev’s huge topspin forehand. Whichever player does the better job of dictating play and therefore being able to avoid his opponent’s main weapon will prevail. With Almagro playing like he’s nothing short of a clay-court genius at the moment, chances are he will be the one left standing at the end of the day.

Juan Monaco probably thought it was a good omen playing in Monte-Carlo, Monaco this week, but the draw certainly did not do him any favors. Clay-court wizard Nicolas Almagro is up next in a blockbuster second-round clash.

Two clay-court masters will do battle in marquee second-round matchup at the Masters Series Monte-Carlo on Tuesday. Sure Almagro just blasted Monaco 6-3, 6-2 last week in Valencia, but Monaco has no business getting dismantled like that by anyone on the red stuff. The fact that Monaco won their first meeting—last year in Buenos Aires also on clay—should give him some hope on Wednesday. The third ever head-to-headed meeting between Almagro and Monaco should produce a much closer score than the Valencia result.

Monaco is going to have to pick up his game, however, as it looks unlikely that Almagro’s level will drop. Almagro has already won clay-court titles this season in Costa Do Sauipe, Brazil and Acapulco, Mexico. The Spaniard also reached the quarterfinals in Buenos Aires and the final in Valencia, where he lost a thriller to David Ferrer. A consistent force on clay over the past few years, Almagro is really on fire on the slow stuff in 2008 and outside of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, he has to be considered a top contender for any clay-court title.

Monaco really broke onto the ATP scene last season, but unlike Almagro, he has only been solid rather than spectacular in 2008. The Argentine’s best performance came at the clay-court event in Vina del Mar, Chile, but an injury sustained in doubles prevented Monaco from playing in the singles final against Fernando Gonzalez. Other than that his efforts on the dirt have been mediocre this year, although he did make it to the quarterfinals in Valencia before losing to Almagro.

Wednesday’s match, unlike last week’s surprising rout, should be a grueling baseline grand that tests the players’ stamina. Both players can spend all day at the back of the court in relentless groundstroke rallies. The difference once again, however, could be the Almagro one-handed backhand. Monaco does not possess a weapon like that, so Almagro has an easier time of finishing off points if his opponent does not keep the ball deep. Expect Almagro to prevail, but count on him at least being tested this time around.

One of the more intriguing first-round matchups at the Masters Series Monte-Carlo pits Dmitry Tursunov against Igor Andreev. The two Russians are familiar with each other as Davis Cup teammates and as opponents across the net from each other.

It will be the sixth head-to-head matchup between Dmitry Tursunov and Igor Andreev when the compatriots square off on Tuesday in a Masters Series Monte-Carlo first-round battle. Andreev holds a decisive 4-1 edge over Tursunov, including 1-0 on clay. That dirt contest at last season’s Masters Series Hamburg was their most recent encounter, and Andreev led 6-2, 1-0 when Tursunov retired with an injury.

Andreev’s game is best suited for clay, but he enjoyed some nice results on the hard courts earlier this season. Currently ranked 32^nd in the world, Andreev reached the third round of the Australian Open, the quarterfinals in Dubai, and most impressively the quarterfinals of the Masters Series Miami. If he can do all that on a surface that he doesn’t particularly love, there’s no telling how successful he can be during this clay-court swing.

Tursunov, on the other hand, is a ball-basher who prefers faster surfaces. Therefore it should not come as a surprise that the California resident turned in one quarterfinal (Doha), one title (Sydney), and a fourth-round appearance in Miami all on hard courts. This will be Tursunov’s first foray onto the clay in 2008.

Andreev and Tursunov (30^th in the world) are just two spots apart in the rankings, and you would think a match on a neutral surface such as a medium-fast hard court would result in a battle that would reflect such closeness. On clay, however, Andreev has to be favored considerably. Tursunov’s big serve and huge, flat groundstrokes will not have as big of an impact on the red stuff. Andreev’s massive topspin off the forehand side, meanwhile, will take an especially large toll on the dirt. Andreev’s recent showing in Miami and his head-to-head domination of Tursunov are all the more reasons to like him in straight sets on Tuesday.

With none of the top three players in the world, Nikolay Davydenko coming off an injury in the Estoril Open final, and the presence of several clay-court experts, the third quarter of the Monte-Carlo draw looks like a free-for-all.

Nikolay Davydenko is the top seed (fourth overall) in the third quarter of the draw this week, but he will have his hands full in making a run to the Monte-Carlo semifinals. First of all, the Russian will have to bounce back from a leg injury that caused him to retire early in the second set of his title match in Estoril against Roger Federer. Second, he has more than his fair share of company in a section of the draw that appears to be anyone’s for the taking.

The other three seeded players in the third quarter are Mikhail Youzhny (8), Juan Monaco (11), and Philipp Kohlschreiber (16). Monaco is the only member of that trio who prefers clay over any other surface, but Youzhny and Kohlschreiber are both adept on the dirt.

In addition to the seeds, however, it is actually some of the unseeded bunch that appear to be the biggest threats in this part of the draw. Nicolas Almagro is the essence of a clay-court genius and he is coming off a runner-up performance in Valencia (lost to David Ferrer in the final). The Spaniard already has two clay-court titles in 2008. He should crush hometown wild card Jean-Rene Lisnard in round one and then he would most likely get Monaco in the second. Almagro would not meet Davydenko until the quarterfinals.

Igor Andreev’s heavy topspin forehand makes him a load to deal with on clay, and the Russian should be able to handle compatriot Dmitry Tursunov, who knows only one speed, in the first round. If Andreev can get to the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open, there’s no telling how far he can go on the Monte-Carlo dirt.

And what would a clay-court event be without Argentines? Jose Acasuso has a tough first-round battle with Kohlschreiber on his hands, but on the slow stuff an Acasuso win would not be a big surprise. Juan Ignacio Chela is mired in a bit of a slump, but a move to the clay could snap him out of the doldrums. Simone Bolleli is a winnable match for Chela in round one, and then he would get Davydenko.

It’s anyone’s ballgame in the third quarter of the draw, but with Davydenko potentially less than 100 percent, you have to like Almagro’s chances of advancing to the semifinals.