Jannik Sinner’s run of 37 consecutive sets won at Masters 1000 events came to an end against Tomas Machac, but the Italian still progressed to the Monte-Carlo Masters quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-3 victory. Sinner had not dropped a set during his Sunshine Double triumphs at Indian Wells and Miami and was also the Paris Masters champion last year, but he admitted fatigue played a part in the tight contest. ‘I was struggling a little bit, I was a bit tired,’ he said. ‘In the second set I struggled a bit to find the right energy… The main priority is to recover.’
Sinner will meet Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last eight after the Canadian advanced when sixth seed Casper Ruud retired with Auger-Aliassime leading 7-5, 2-2.
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz also survived a scare, overcoming Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. The Spaniard dominated the opening set but made 23 unforced errors in the second, allowing Etcheverry to level and force a decider. Alcaraz steadied to close out the match and underlined the importance of a deep Monte-Carlo run while his rivals press for the top ranking. ‘I was just feeling the ball really well in the first set… When you don’t take the opportunities in this kind of level, you have to run back,’ he said, noting the tougher, slower conditions later in the match.
Alcaraz will face Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals, the pair’s first official meeting, after Bublik beat Jiri Lehecka 6-2, 7-5 in 75 minutes.
Other notable results saw 19-year-old Joao Fonseca reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Matteo Berrettini. Third seed Alexander Zverev defeated Zizou Bergs 6-2, 7-5 to make the last eight at Monte-Carlo for the first time since 2022. Australia’s Alex de Minaur edged qualifier Alexander Blockx 7-5, 7-6(4).
In a historic home result, Valentin Vacherot became 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.
On the WTA side at the Linz 500, second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova and third seed Liudmila Samsonova were both upset. Samsonova lost to 18-year-old local wildcard Lilli Tagger, who moves into her first clay-court quarter-final and will face Anastasia Potapova. Karolina Pliskova beat Alexandrova to join Potapova in the last eight, along with Donna Vekic, Lina Gjorcheska, Marina Bassols Ribera, Elvina Kalieva and Lisa Pigato.
Holger Rune has confirmed he will return 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 but returned to the top 10 shortly afterward. ‘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 begins on May 16 and will also feature Germany’s Alexander Zverev.