Monte Carlo Masters 2011: Six-time champ Nadal believes this event should be mandatory

World number one Rafael Nadal believes that the Monte Carlo Masters, an ATP 1000 event, should be a mandatory tournament in the men’s ATP World Tour calendar.

The Monte Carlo Masters is one of the nine ATP World Tour 1000 events on tour but it wasn’t tagged as mandatory. One of the oldest tennis events, the Monte Carlo Masters was supposed to have been downgraded to a lower status with leser prize money and ranking points. However, this plan did not materialize after top-ranked players such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal opposed to the move.

“Even though the tournament lost the status of mandatory, it’s something that in the future must change another time and become mandatory,” Nadal was quoted as saying.

The six-time Monte Carlo Masters champion starts his claycourt season today against Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen.

“It is impossible to downgrade a tournament like Monte Carlo. There is the history of this tournament, the tradition, the place, the city. Everything is too important to downgrade a tournament like this.”

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