Carlos Alcaraz has booked his place in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time with a dominant 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 win over fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Saturday. He will face Italian Lorenzo Musetti on the red clay in Sunday’s final after the 13th seed fought back to beat Australian eighth seed Alex de Minaur 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) in the second semi-final.
“I knew how well Davidovich Fokina had played in Monte Carlo so I had to be ready to fight,” said Alcaraz. The 21-year-old is targeting his first Masters title since winning in Indian Wells last year and his first on clay since the 2024 French Open. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to win a title on clay and I can’t wait to try my luck again here,” Alcaraz said, reflecting on his recent Olympic final loss to Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz added, “At the beginning of the week, the first tournament on clay, you have to get used to the conditions. The ball comes different. You know, the play on clay is different… I’m just really happy to get the level that I wanted at the beginning of the week.” His only title this season remains the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam in February, but he appears to be enjoying his return to clay.
The victory also continues the uptick in his fortune at an event where he had lost his only other match in 2022. Alcaraz won his only previous encounter with Davidovich Fokina on the clay in Barcelona two years ago and started quickly this time, breaking early. Davidovich Fokina broke back to make it 5-5 and took the first set into the tie-break, which Alcaraz won 7/2.
Alcaraz admitted feeling added pressure due to world number one Jannik Sinner’s absence, saying, “The first question, you know, since Jannik was unable to play tournaments, a lot of people were asking me and talking about, how important (the) moment that I have ahead is to reach the number one (ranking) again or to win tournaments or whatever. I was thinking so much about it instead of playing my good tennis and enjoy the time that I have stepping on the court and playing matches.”
In the other semi-final, Musetti edged De Minaur in a thrilling match. Musetti seemed to suffer from nerves early on, getting broken in all four of his service games in the opening set. However, he settled down in the second set, grabbing a crucial break in the ninth game and successfully serving to force the match into a decider.
The 23-year-old got the better of a run of three consecutive breaks midway through the third set. Although Musetti failed to serve out the match, he held his nerve in the tie-break, securing a place in the biggest final of his career so far on his first match point when De Minaur netted a forehand.