New Delhi: Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner made rapid starts at the Monte Carlo Masters by winning their respective opening-round matches to heat up the battle for the top spot in the ATP rankings. Fresh from claiming a “Sunshine double” of back-to-back title wins at Indian Wells and the Miami Open, Sinner is gunning to reclaim the No.1 ranking from his Spanish rival Alcaraz.
The Italian, who claimed Indian Wells and Miami wins without dropping a set, set the ball rolling in Monte Carlo with another dominating win to begin his clay-court season. Sinner continued his unbeaten streak at the Masters events with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over the Frenchman Ugo Humbert in his first match on clay since last season’s French Open final loss to Alcaraz.
Sinner and Alcaraz lay down the marker with dominant wins
Sinner will reclaim the top spot with a title win in Monte Carlo, and he sounded the war bugle with an ultra-dominant 64-minute win over world number 34 French star.
Not long later, Alcaraz responded with a 70-minute thrashing of Sebastian Baez on Court Rainier III. The world number one barely put a foot wrong during his 6-1, 6-3 opening-round win against the Argentinian star.
Alcaraz broke his opponent’s serve five times while dropping his own serve just once in a scintillating performance as iconic sprint star Usain Bolt watched from the stands.
It was a statement win from Alcaraz, who will do everything in his power to retain the top spot and thwart Sinner’s bid to topple him from the summit.
The defending champion has started his 66th week as the No. 1 player, equalling the record of Sinner. Alcaraz enjoyed a dominant clay season in 2025 with title wins in Monte Carlo, Rome and Roland Garros last season, along with a final appearance in Barcelona, which was the only blot in his near-perfect 22-1 record on the surface.
Similar to Sinner, Alacaraz is also playing his first match on clay since the exhilarating Roland Garros final last year.