Jannik Sinner saw his streak of 37 consecutive sets won at Masters 1000 level ended by Tomas Machac, but the Italian still reached the quarter-finals of the Monte-Carlo Masters with a 6-1 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 win.
Last month Sinner became the first man to complete the Sunshine Double without dropping a set, claiming titles at Indian Wells and the Miami Open, and he had also won the Paris Masters title last year. Despite the setback, Sinner recovered to seal victory over his Czech opponent as he continues his charge to challenge current world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz.
“I was struggling a little bit, I was a bit tired,” Sinner said. “I felt great before the match. In the second set I struggled a bit to find the right energy, but this can happen. I tried to push myself through, which I have done. Even when you don’t feel your best, you try to find ways and that was the case today and I am happy. The main priority is to recover.”
Sinner faces Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals after the sixth seed progressed when Casper Ruud was forced to retire with the Canadian leading 7-5 2-2.
Carlos Alcaraz also dropped a set before taking a 6-1 4-6 6-3 win over Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry to continue his title defence. The Spaniard fell into an unexpected battle in the second set, making 23 unforced errors which allowed Etcheverry to take a set and force a decider. A strong finish put Alcaraz through, and his run is significant as a deep Sinner showing could threaten Alcaraz’s hold on the top ranking.
“I was just feeling the ball really well in the first set, hitting the ball like 10 out of 10, I would say,” Alcaraz said. “And then in the second set, I started playing well as well. I just had chances to break his serve in the second game, but I just didn’t take it. As I say every time, when you don’t take the opportunities in this kind of level, you have to run back. He gained a little bit of confidence after that, playing more aggressively, hitting the ball better, and not making that many mistakes. After that, I would say the conditions were a little bit slower, which became a little bit tougher, but I would say that was a great quality fight at the end.”
Alcaraz will play Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals — the first time the pair will meet in an official tournament — after the Kazakh beat Jiri Lehecka 6-2 7-5 in 75 minutes.
Elsewhere, 19-year-old Joao Fonseca eased past Matteo Berrettini 6-3 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of a Masters 1000 event for the first time. Third seed Alexander Zverev defeated Zizou Bergs 6-2 7-5 to reach the tournament’s last eight for the first time since 2022. Australia’s Alex de Minaur edged qualifier Alexander Blockx 7-5 7-6 (7-4).
In the final match of the day, Valentin Vacherot made history as the first Monegasque in the Open Era to reach the Monte-Carlo quarter-finals, coming from a set down to beat Hubert Hurkacz 6-7 (4) 6-3 6-4. Vacherot’s victory on home soil follows his breakthrough last year when he achieved a notable Masters result.
At the Linz WTA 500 tournament, second and third seeds Ekaterina Alexandrova and Liudmila Samsonova were knocked out on Thursday. Samsonova was beaten by 18-year-old local wildcard Lilli Tagger, who advances to her first clay quarter-final to face Anastasia Potapova. Karolina Pliskova defeated Alexandrova to move into the last eight, joined by Potapova, Donna Vekic, Lina Gjorcheska, Marina Bassols Ribera, Elvina Kalieva and Lisa Pigato.
Three-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist Holger Rune will return to action at next month’s Hamburg Open after undergoing Achilles surgery in October. Rune suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture in the Stockholm Open semi-finals when he was up a set against Ugo Humbert. Days later he returned to the top 10 in the world rankings despite missing the rest of the season.
“The hard work starts in Hamburg. I can’t wait to be back on clay at the Bitpanda Hamburg Open and to finally experience the atmosphere on site again after such a long break,” the 22-year-old Dane said. The Hamburg Open starts on May 16, with Germany’s world No.3 Alexander Zverev also taking part.