A day of unexpected drama at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters has set up Thursday’s third round as the most compelling session of the week, with Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and a shaken Alexander Zverev all returning to the clay of the Monte-Carlo Country Club needing to find higher gears.
MONTE-CARLO
Wednesday delivered one of the season’s most startling results when wild card Matteo Berrettini wiped out seventh seed Daniil Medvedev 6-0 6-0 in 49 minutes, and the day’s other headline match was only marginally less alarming for those watching from Zverev’s corner.
Competing on clay for the first time this year, the third seed battled back from 2-5 in the deciding set to defeat Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin 4-6 6-4 7-5, saving three break points in a mammoth final game before sealing victory on his third match point.
It was survival rather than statement tennis, and Zverev acknowledged as much. “My level was not there at all to be honest,” he said. “But it was my first clay-court match in 11 months. Sometimes it is just about getting the win.”
ALCARAZ
The defending champion faces Sebastian Baez in the third round in what will be their first meeting on clay. Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 3-0, though all three previous matches came on hard courts. Baez earned his place in the round by defeating Stan Wawrinka in the first round and arrives with a robust clay record behind him. For Alcaraz, a win means a quarterfinal berth and another round of 1,000 ranking points preserved — the arithmetic of his title defence grows more pressing with each passing day.
SINNER
World No. 2 Jannik Sinner faces 16th seed Francisco Cerundolo, who advanced by defeating unseeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round, ending the three-time champion’s Monte-Carlo hopes before the last eight.
Sinner has not dropped a set across his last three Masters 1000 titles and opened his week in Monaco with a 6-3 6-0 dismissal of Ugo Humbert. Victory on Thursday keeps alive his push for the world No. 1 ranking — a semi-final finish remains the minimum requirement for any realistic overturn of Alcaraz’s position at the top.
FONSECA AND BERRETTINI
Away from the headline courts, Thursday also offers one of the draw’s more compelling subplots. Nineteen-year-old João Fonseca, making his Monte-Carlo debut, faces Berrettini fresh off the Italian’s demolition of Medvedev.
Fonseca reached the third round by beating Gabriel Diallo 6-2 6-3 and has looked increasingly composed on a surface where his heavy ball-striking is well suited. Berrettini, who entered the week without a seeding and with little match momentum, is now the surprise package of the tournament — and the opponent nobody in the draw particularly wants.
Zverev, meanwhile, meets Belgian Zizou Bergs, who upset 13th seed Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-1 to earn his place in the third round. After the German’s labored escape on Wednesday, Bergs will arrive with genuine belief. The quarterfinals are one round away, and after the events of Wednesday, nothing about this draw feels predictable.
