Tuesday Preview: Sinner, Alcaraz Begin No. 1 Battle

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner begin their battle for World No. 1 at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters Tuesday when they play back-to-back opening-round matches on Court Rainier III. Should seedings hold and they meet in the final, the championship match will determine who emerges from the tournament in top spot of the PIF ATP Rankings next Monday.

There is a lot of tennis to be played between now and Sunday’s final, of course, but the world’s dominant two players have combined to win the past 19 tournaments in which they both competed.

Defending champion and World No. 1 Alcaraz is third match on Tuesday, looking to extend his perfect 3-0 record against Argentine Sebastian Baez, who on Monday lowered the curtain on Stan Wawrinka’s 16th and final appearance in the Principality.

Alcaraz had not won a match in Monte-Carlo before he began his title run last year. That was the start of a dominant 22-1 march through the clay swing that also netted titles in Rome and Roland Garros.

Despite a semi-final loss to Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells semi-finals and a third-round loss to Sebastian Korda in the Miami third round, Alcaraz has every reason to come into the clay swing high on confidence.

“This is probably one of the best times of the season for me,” Alcaraz said during his pre-tournament press conference. “I miss clay every time the clay season is over. It’s been a long time since Roland Garros that I haven’t touched clay. In my first practices I said to my team that it’s time to get the socks dirty again. It feels amazing to be back on clay.”

Two-time semi-finalist Sinner has not yet reached the Monte-Carlo final but finds himself with the rare chance to win four consecutive ATP Masters 1000 titles, after winning Paris at the end of last season and this year’s first two Masters 1000s in Indian Wells and Miami.

The Italian has won an incredible 34 consecutive sets at ATP Masters 1000 level. He also won 10 consecutive sets at the Nitto ATP Finals last year soon after his Paris triumph.

Interestingly, both Alcaraz and Sinner have held top spot for 66 weeks throughout their careers. Sinner must reach the semi-finals to have a chance of retaking No. 1.

Italian Matteo Berrettini opens the Court Rainier III card with a sixth meeting with Roberto Bautista Agut (Berrettini leads 4-1). Eighth seed Alexander Bublik closes the centre court programme with an interesting meeting against fellow shotmaker Gael Monfils, who is making his final appearance at the tournament. Monfils leads their series 2-1.

Alex de Minaur, Casper Ruud, Grigor Dimitrov are also in action Tuesday.