The ATP Tour is a grueling one, but it’s hard to have any sympathy for the players battling it out this time of year in the string of tournaments leading up to the French Open in Paris with stops including Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Hamburg and Munich. (Why is it that when the tour comes to America some of our feature tournaments go to second-tier cities like Cincinnati and Indianapolis?)

Of course, this week’s tournament in Monte Carlo has no American seeds, and Sam Querrey is the only American in the entire draw (the unseeded American reached the quarterfinals before losing to Novak Djokovic). The Tennis Channel is carrying many of the matches, live in the morning and in replays at night.

Of course, the red clay is not the surface of choice for our country’s men. The American contingent last year went an embarrassing 0-9 in the French Open. Will this year be any different? Judging from the lack of Americans in the draw in Monte Carlo, probably not.

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