The men’s tennis No. 1 world ranking could change hands at the Monte Carlo Masters, and Carlos Alcaraz is looking forward to a duel with Jannik Sinner, despite being surprised the Italian elected to take part in the event in Monaco after his “Sunshine Double” in America – winning titles in both Indian Wells and Miami.
Alcaraz is the current men’s No. 1.
The Spaniard is the defending champion after securing the title last year, but he now has to contend with an in-form Sinner, with the pair now established as the sport’s pre-eminent pair, with a long rivalry predicted.
Sinner recently landed the “Sunshine Double” – winning both Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
Alcaraz had anticipated that the Italian would take a break after that success, given it came relatively early in the season.
Instead, he has elected to move onto the event in Monaco to start his clay-court action, with the build-up proper getting away for the French Open, which is live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
The Monte Carlo tournament is a Masters 1000 event, but it is the only one that is not obligatory for players, so it presents itself as an opportunity for a break ahead of other big events coming up.
Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul both made that decision, but Alcaraz thinks that Sinner is looking to maintain his excellent form, and is ready to meet him.
”Honestly, I was surprised that Jannik, after the Indian Wells and Miami tour, came to play in Monte Carlo. But obviously, this shows what he is capable of doing right now,” Alcaraz told Sky Sports.
“Hopefully, we can play here in Monte Carlo. Who knows? This year, we didn’t even play one time yet. Hopefully, it happens in the clay season.
A win for Sinner in the principality would also give the 24-year-old the No. 1 ranking regardless of Alcaraz’s performance. There are other routes for him to grab the top spot, too. A semi-final finish would be sufficient if Alcaraz did not reach the quarters, and a loss in the final would be sufficient provided Alcaraz failed to reach the last two.
Both players have byes into the second round.
Sinner meets Ugo Humbert, and Alcaraz will face the winner of Stan Wawrinka against Sebastian Baez.
With the two players on the opposite sides of the draw, the only chance of them meeting will be if they go all the way to the final.
Despite coming to Monaco as the defending champion, Alcaraz claimed that his focus is on making the most of this year’s event, and getting back on clay, rather than retaining the title above all else.
”I’m just really, really happy to be back here in Monte Carlo, the first tournament of the clay season, at least for me, which is great,” Alcaraz told ATP Media.
”I just missed it so much to be honest. I’m going to try to enjoy as much as I can this beautiful surface, this beautiful tournament. It’s great.
”To be here as the defending champion, it’s something that I’m just not thinking about to be honest. I’m just trying to be in a good [mindset] and trying to get better after every practice, and let’s see how it goes.”
Last season, Alcaraz started with an early clay-court wobble after back-to-back defeats, first to Jack Draper at Indian Wells and then David Goffin in Miami, but his winning run in Monte Carlo kicked off a streak of 33 wins in 34 matches.
”This week was really, really important. I would say that was the turning point of 2025,” Alcaraz said.
”After the feeling that I got here, I just got better and better. I understood and I realised how I should play after this week.
“That’s why I just did an exceptional year after this one. I do remember I didn’t play that well, but everything that came after that, it was an amazing moment for me.
“I started playing tennis on clay courts. I grew up playing on clay courts. I started playing at four and I just [didn’t] touch a hard court until eight years old, and I just touched it barely, so I was always on clay courts.
”That’s why I got the feeling of playing the clay season and when the clay season is over you have to wait almost one year to play again. So it’s a really long period of time, at least for me.
Credit: https://www.tntsports.co.uk/tennis/atp-monte-carlo/2026/carlos-alcaraz-surprised-jannik-sinner-decision-sunshine-double-masters-1000_sto23287777/story.shtml
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