MONACO — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic says he is not sure whether he will play at the Monte Carlo Masters this week, even though his right ankle injury is healing fast. The Serb twisted his ankle last Sunday on Davis Cup quarterfinal duty against the United States. Tests showed that the damage is not as serious as he feared and he has been training with his coach for the past three days ahead of his scheduled second-round match on Wednesday. But Djokovic, who lost to eight-time champion Rafael Nadal in last year's final, said: “I can't 100 percent guarantee that I'll be on the court,” adding that he will decide “on Tuesday at the latest.” He adds: “I'm more optimistic than I was at the beginning of the week, that's for sure. “I can't 100 percent guarantee that I'll be on the court on Wednesday,” Djokovic said. “I still have to be realistic and see if on some practices in the next few days I push myself to the limit, if I'm going to have any discomfort.” Djokovic will only play if he thinks he can challenge properly. “It's a very strong tournament and I don't think there is any room for compromise,” he said. “To compete at such a high level I need to be at 100 percent. I know there is a lot of people who expect me to be there and want me to be there — I want myself to be there more than anybody.” Meanwhile, Sixteenth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria all won in straight sets in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters Sunday. Kohlschreiber broke Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci's serve five times in a 6-4, 6-2 win; Dolgopolov saved all three break points he faced in a 6-2, 6-4 win against Bernard Tomic, and Dimitrov broke Xavier Malisse twice in each set on his way to a 6-3, 6-2 win against the Belgian. Dolgopolov broke Tomic's serve to improve to 5-1 overall against the Australian and he faces fifth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina in the second round. Dimitrov next plays No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, while Kohlschreiber plays either Frenchman Jeremy Chardy or a qualifier. Robredo claims clay crown In Casablanca, Spain's Tommy Robredo lifted his 10th clay-court trophy Sunday at the Grand Prix Hassan II, edging second seed Kevin Anderson 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3. The 30-year-old has prevailed in eight of his last nine ATP World Tour finals on the dirt. Robredo celebrated his first title in more than two years, having last triumphed in February 2011 at the clay event in Santiago. The 72nd-ranked Robredo has worked his way back up the Emirates ATP Rankings after being sidelined with a leg injury for five months in 2012. The former World No. 5 fell as far as No. 471 last season. Squaring off against Anderson for the first time, Robredo stepped up in the key moments of the deciding set, saving all four break points he faced, including two at 5-3, 15/40 to claim victory in two hours and 19 minutes. Almagro to face Isner in final In Houston, top seed Nicolas Almagro, whose 12 previous ATP wins have all come on clay, reached the final of the US Clay Court Championships Saturday by routing wild card Rhyne Williams 6-2, 6-1. Spain's Almagro squares off in Sunday's final against last year's runner-up John Isner, who won a re-match against defending champion Juan Monaco 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the other semifinal. “I think I played better than yesterday,” said Almagro. “I felt good. I'm very happy with my game. I tried to be focused all the time. That's important for me. I tried to play aggressive, and I did it.” World No. 12 Almagro is also bidding to claim his first title on American soil and 13th on clay. Earlier this year he successfully defended his title at the ATP Nice event. Almagro broke Williams five times, winning 61 percent of his return points in the 59-minute match at River Oaks Country Club. American Isner, who took down Monaco in two hours and two minutes, now has three wins and one loss against the Argentine. “Even though I got creamed in that first set, I felt I was playing pretty well,” Isner said. “My serve wasn't really on, but I was making a lot of returns, and so I told myself I was in the match. “I just had to try and find a way to break through on his serve. I served smart, got myself out of some jams the rest of the match. It was a tight one all the way to the end.” The world No. 23 Isner has lost both previous matches to Almagro, including a five-set loss in the Davis Cup semifinals in 2012. — Agencies
