Who is the current prince of clay?

[aman92]

Nominees are:
1) Zverev
Second best clay court player based on big titles won and points accumulated over the past year. However yet to has come close to beating Nadal on clay or making a deep run at the French Open.

2) Thiem
Only current player apart from Djokovic to have 3 victories over Rafa on clay. Made deep runs at the French Open the last 2 years but lack of any significant clay court titles

3) Djokovic
Showed in the first set last year he still has the level to go toe to toe with Rafa on clay. No real titles in the last 2 years but his past history should put him into the conversation.

 

[tusharlovesrafa]

There is no prince of clay! Everyone is simply waiting for Rafa to decline to pick the leftovers..

 

[Fedforever]

Well has to be Zverev since actual match results and titles are more important than H to H.

Don't think the King is too worried about his potential successor yet though.

 

[Deleted member 756514]

It's a musical chair right now - currently occupied by Zverev.

 

[AiRFederer]

The fk does it matter anyway

 

[Slightly D1]

Zverev’s success on clay doesn’t count towards much until he at least makes a French Open QF. Nobody would call a player the “Prince of Grass” or the “Next in line to the throne” simply for winning a grass tournament or two for 2 years while being unable to make it past the 3rd round in Wimbledon.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

It's always been Djoker, no one else comes close to his success against Rafa on clay

 

[Deleted member 756486]

There is no prince, only jesters.

 

[Zeref]

It's Zverev if i am being completely honest.
Yes he has not defeated Rafa Yet, but atleast he is not loosing to regular mugs on clay. In best of 5 FO, Rafa was too busy to conquer everything.. didn't get time with queen to produce a prince. With no heir , he will continue ruling few more years.

 

[mike danny]

As of now it is Zverev. Thiem has underperformed so far.

But if Domi reaches the semis of RG again and Zverev falters early, then it's Thiem.

 

[Plamen1234]

Zverev right now.He reached 2 clay Masters 1000 finals this year plus he had semi final in Monte Carlo .

 

[MatsPhilander]

 

[Deleted member 733170]

There is no prince, only jesters.

To build on this metaphor Federer and Djokovic are elderly courtiers, Grand Dukes in their own right.

Thiem was the favoured Prince but he has been caste aside by Zverev who may eventually lay claim to the Kingdom but it will be a fragile and perilous rule which will fall way short of his father’s great and magnanimous era of unadulterated spoils.

Fognini, the little scamp, is the Court Jester.

 

[I Am Finnish]

Fedr

 

[TheAverageFedererFan]

I'm going to say Thiem because he has beat Rafa in Clay thrice and 2 masters finals, also 2 Roland Garros semifinals.
If Zverev makes the QF or SF this year, it will be him.

 

[BeatlesFan]

There is no prince of clay! Everyone is simply waiting for Rafa to decline to pick the leftovers..

Nothing left to say. There is no Prince until they knock off Rafa at RG either in the final or in earlier round and then they go on to win the title. Soderling was never a Prince because he lost to wazzhisname in the '09 final.

 

[Sudacafan]

Nominees are:
1) Zverev
Second best clay court player based on big titles won and points accumulated over the past year. However yet to has come close to beating Nadal on clay or making a deep run at the French Open.

2) Thiem
Only current player apart from Djokovic to have 3 victories over Rafa on clay. Made deep runs at the French Open the last 2 years but lack of any significant clay court titles

3) Djokovic
Showed in the first set last year he still has the level to go toe to toe with Rafa on clay. No real titles in the last 2 years but his past history should put him into the conversation.

Correct answer not included in poll: No other
Clay Kingdom has no heirs as of today.

 

[aditya123]

Zverev right now.He reached 2 clay Masters 1000 finals this year plus he had semi final in Monte Carlo .

He is the only player to have reached the semis of all clay masters this year. No doubt he is the prince right now

 

[Booger]

Chung is the heir to the empire of dirt, imo. Thiem's game is too much offense and prone to inconsistency to win a grand salami. Zverev is a headcase. Enough said.

Chung plays annoyingly good defense without taking much risk on offense, a la Djokovic.

 

[Shaolin]

Schwartzman

 

[Standaa]

Anyone but Zverev

 

[Bender]

Zverev

Sorry, @paranoidandroid

 

[r2473]

Nadal

 

[BVSlam]

The King has killed every prince already. Zverev's success in these clay Masters has nothing to do with being such a promising clay courter, his game is kind of built to work anywhere in the modern game with his solid baseline strokes and serve, even though he'll have his surface preferences of course. He's just the in-form player right now after Rafa so he'll have success thanks to that. Someone like Thiem is more of a clay courter, but the reason he was ever seen as a prince of clay is because it's about the only surface he ever performs on and because he had three wins against Nadal, which were all, in the end, meaningless in the grand scheme because it hasn't led to a single M1000 title. In the important matches where Nadal is in form, he has no chance.

A prince should at least post any danger to the king losing significant titles on the respective surface while winning them himself. And for more than just one year or a few tournaments. The only ones who have come close to being princes of clay are Djokovic and Federer, because in their best years they beat everyone else on the surface and gave Nadal some tough matches, even winning a couple of BO3's (yes I remember Djokovic's 2015 win at RG against him). And that's more because of them being versatile players who happen to be among the greatest ever than because of their specific prowess on clay courts, which is not even their own best surface.

My answer, in short, is: there is no prince of clay. Nadal has had the same dominant clay court season as always. Win two Masters + Barcelona, one loss at the other Masters and something insane will have to happen for him not to win RG. Just like he did (or did better even) in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2017. And in the weaker years (aside from 2015/2016), he still either won RG + a Masters or, in 2009, got upset at RG but dominated everything before it as usual.

 

[ForumMember]

Zverev was few games away from becoming more successful than Rafa on clay this YTD. He would have two masters + Munich. Rafa would have one masters and Barca. Has to be him. However, I would feel more worried when Rafa faces Thiem than when he faced Zverev.

 

[Kalin]

Chung is the heir to the empire of dirt, imo. Thiem's game is too much offense and prone to inconsistency to win a grand salami. Zverev is a headcase. Enough said.

Chung plays annoyingly good defense without taking much risk on offense, a la Djokovic.

What are Chung's best results on clay? Poor guy just got injured and is missing the rest of clay season.

Simply playing annoyingly good riskless defense doesn't get you that far unless you're Andy Murray. Just ask Simon and Pushta, among others.

 

[Im(moral) Winner]

What are Chung's best results on clay? Poor guy just got injured and is missing the rest of clay season.

Simply playing annoyingly good riskless defense doesn't get you that far unless you're Andy Murray. Just ask Simon and Pushta, among others.

He took Nishikori to five tight sets last year at RG. Nishikori got lucky with the match getting postponed to the next day since he was on his last legs at that moment.

 

[Kalin]

He took Nishikori to five tight sets last year at RG. Nishikori got lucky with the match getting postponed to the next day since he was on his last legs at that moment.

Not bad but it immediately begs the next question - what are Nishikori's best results on clay that playing him tough is considered a benchmark?

Not hating, just a genuine question. I would think that to be considered a clay threat these days a player must have either given Rafa a hard time on more than one occasion (or better, beaten him) or made it deep into some tournaments and even won some. Thiem and Zverev have done most of these things. Have others (Novak notwithstanding)?

 

[robthai]

bump

 

[aman92]

I hereby annoint Diego Schwartzman, the new Prince of Clay for becoming the only man to take a set off Nadal at RG in the past 3 years.

 

[Gazelle]

None is deserving of the title.

 

[I Am Finnish]

Fedr

 

[True Fanerer]

Diego showed more heart than anyone. No one really deserves the title really.

 

[estigma2001]

Diego showed more heart than anyone. No one really deserves the title really.

Diego to win RG in 2022

 

[True Fanerer]

Diego to win RG in 2022

I hope he wins it next year.

 

[NuBas]

Who is the Princess of Clay?

 

[Thundergod]

Like others have said, it is definitely a vacant title since no one deserves it.

 

[nolefam_2024]

A prince becomes king later on.

Djokovic is same age as Nadal. Nadal is sadly not going away.

It has to be between Thiem and Zverev. I think Zverev still will start to do better on other surfaces. Didn't Federer win many clay masters in his early career?

But Thiem is made for clay. 2 SF and 1 F in RG is good indicator. He is in top 10 because of clay only. He will probably take advantage when Nadal is not there. So I think he is prince of clay.