Watch: 'My relationship with clay is toxic,' Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Chris Eubanks, and other ATP icons reveal their biggest clay insecurities as the red season beckons for glory

International stars include Thanasi Kokkinakis, Max Purcell, Denis Shapovalov, Jordan Thompson, Tomas Etcheverry, Francisco Cerundolo, and Benoit Paire. As clay is a difficult surface to get used to given the various challenges it brings, the tournament hosted a fun session for its players.

Many of the stars were asked to comment on their relationship with clay, whether they love or hate the surface. In the montage, quite a few answered and explained the reason why they chose to say so.

Shelton was positive in his answer calling his relationship to be ‘growing’ with the surface. Tiafoe found the funny side claiming his relationship is good with the surface only in Houston. It was a dig at his record having lost two finals on the surface, both in Estoril in 2018 and 2022.

Eubanks had a mixed response. He admitted that slipping on the surface and difficulty in changing direction gets difficult for him. But at the same time, when he can strike the ball cleanly, he claimed it felt good.

The most direct answer was however by Aleksander Kovacevic who didn’t hold back in giving his answer.

My relationship with clay is toxic. said Kovacevic.

Mixed results in Houston expose the struggle of American players on clay

5th seeded Eubanks suffered a straight-set exit against Rinki Hijikata crashing out in the first round itself. Alex Michelsen also was shown the exit in the first round although he put on a brave fight against Purcell but lost in the third set.

Kovacevic won a marathon clash against Kokkinakis to knock out the Australian who had earlier expressed his love for the surface during his interview. Seventh-seeded Giron overpowered wildcard entrant Denis Shapovalov in straight-sets. He will now take on J.J. Wolf in the second round in what will be an all-American clash.

The hopes for a title on home soil will however rest with Shelton and Tiafoe mainly. The southpaw has been in good form lately and with a lethal serve, can cause problems despite the surface slowing down the speed of the serves.

As for Tiafoe, he will look to bank on the crowd support and his motivation to retain his ranking points playing as the defending champ. He will take on James Duckworth in the second round playing as the third seed. Shelton, the top seed, will take on Zizou Bergs to start his campaign in Houston this year.