Djokovic, Nadal begin road to Roland Garros in Monte Carlo

NovakDjokovicand RafaelNadalbegintheir clay court seasons inMonteCarlothis week, seeded to meet in the final which would likely be a dress rehearsal for another title showdown atRolandGarrosin June.

DjokovicandNadalhaven't played since the delayed Australian Open in February where the world number one Serb claimed his ninth Melbourne title and 18th career major.

He has also since surpassed Roger Federer's record for weeks at number one and will start a 316th week on top of the world from Monday.

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Djokovicis a two-time champion inMonteCarlobut has not got beyond the quarter-finals since his most recent title in 2015.

Nadal, who won a 13thRolandGarrostitle and record-equalling 20th Grand Slam by beatingDjokovicin the Paris final in October, is chasing a 12th triumph inMonteCarlo.

There are concerns over the lingering back problemNadalis carrying ahead of a gruelling clay court season which peaks at the French Open from May 30.

Nadalhas 71-5 record inMonteCarlowhere he has fallen short of the quarter-finals just once -- on his debut in 2003 as a 16-year-old.

Since the Australian Open,Nadalhas been replaced as world number two by Russia's Daniil Medvedev.

The Australian Open runner-up was the first player outside the 'Big Four' ofDjokovic,Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray to reach number two in the world since Australia's Lleyton Hewittin July 2005.

However, he is wary of his chances on clay.

His 10 career titles have all come on hard courts while he has never won a match atRolandGarrosin four visits.

"Maybe in 2050 I'll manage to get past the first round atRolandGarros," the mercurial Russian joked.

Missing from theMonteCarloline-up is Roger Federer who last played in the Principality in 2016 and has never won the tournament.

Federer, who will be 40 in August, only returned to the tour in Qatar in February after 13 months on the sidelines to recover from two knee surgeries.

The veteran Swiss plans to make his 2021 clay court bow in Madrid in the first week of May.

Also missing is world number four Dominic Thiem who, likeDjokovic,Nadaland Federer, skipped the Miami Masters recently as he was "not at 100%".

The two-time runner-up toNadalatRolandGarrosopted instead to stay in Austria to practice on clay.

The 2020MonteCarloMasters was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic while this year's event will be behind closed doors.

Top seedDjokovicfaces a tough start inMonteCarlo.

After an opening round bye, he will face in-form teenager Jannik Sinner if the Italian gets past Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Nadaland Medvedev are in the opposite half of the draw.