Jannik Sinner secured his return to the world No. 1 ranking for the first time since November, defeating defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in the Monte Carlo Masters final. The victory marks Sinner’s third Masters 1000 title of the year, following his triumphs at Indian Wells and Miami, and extends his remarkable winning streak in Masters events to 22 matches.
The final in Monaco was a highly anticipated clash, the first meeting of the world’s top two players since Sinner triumphed in straight sets in the ATP Finals last November. Despite the windy conditions making for unpredictable play, both players exchanged powerful shots and battled fiercely, resulting in a combined 83 unforced errors.
“It’s been an interesting week trying to adjust to playing on clay again,” said Sinner after the match. “I came here to play as many matches as possible, and I’m thrilled to win such a big tournament on this surface. Returning to No. 1 and winning this title means a lot to me.”
The match got off to a tense start, with both players breaking each other’s serves early on. Neither was able to assert dominance, with both having to fight hard to hold serve. The key moment came in the first-set tie-break, where Sinner fired up his first serves. After squandering an initial set point, an Alcaraz double fault gave the Italian the edge, and he capitalized on it to take the opening set.
Sinner started the second set on the back foot, coming from 15-40 down in his opening service game and eventually conceding a break to go 2-1 down. However, Alcaraz couldn’t build on his advantage, and Sinner kept himself in the match, breaking back to lead 4-3. With Alcaraz struggling to hold serve, the 24-year-old Italian seized another break point opportunity and quickly sealed the match, clinching his 27th ATP Tour victory.
Meanwhile, in the women’s singles, Russian top seed Mirra Andreeva made a stunning comeback to win the Linz Open, defeating local favourite Anastasia Potapova 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. Potapova, who switched allegiance from Russia to Austria in December, dominated the opening set, but the 18-year-old Andreeva, a former French Open semi-finalist, regained her composure to claim her fifth WTA Tour title.
The tournament, held on clay for the first time, saw Andreeva rally from a set down to win, highlighting her resilience and skill on the surface.
