What happened in Monte Carlo?

Hi loves,

Spring has sprung, meaning the clay court season is officially underway. I said last year that because Monte Carlo is a smaller field it doesn’t really feel as though the clay court season properly gets underway until next week with Stuttgart and Barcelona kicking off. I take that back wholeheartedly this year, though. The Monte Carlo Masters 1000 event has returned this year with a punch, providing us with a top class field. Mouthwatering matches, hard-fought battles, shocks and scares. This week had it all. Let’s recap what happened in Monte Carlo.

Medvedev Meltdown

The most sensational story of the week is Daniil Medvedev and his 0-6 0-6 capitulation against Matteo Berrettini. It was a first for them both; the first double bagel Berrettini has ever dished out and the first double bagel Medvedev has received. As you can imagine, and may have seen making the rounds on social media, Daniil did not take it overly well. At 6-0 2-0 after just 34 minutes the Russian went to town on his racquet, smashing it into the red Monte-Carlo clay six times, before very respectfully cleaning up after himself and putting it gently into the bin - a real oxymoron (emphasis on the moron).

Berrettini described the performance as “one of the best performances of my life”. Medvedev was not even able to get to game point on his own serve, which is rather remarkable when his serve is generally strong and consistent. At the end of two matches Berrettini was yet to lose a game at the 2026 edition of the Monte-Carlo Masters, as his first match against Bautista Agut was cut short after just 4 games as the Spaniard was forced to retire at 0-4 down in the first. It was unfortunately a short-lived high for Berrettini as he was downed by young Brazilian Joao Fonseca in round of 16. Hopefully a step in the right direction though, as he continues to try and make his way back to the top after repeated injuries.

Daniil Medvedev has a meltdown

Vacherot’s Home Dreams Dashed

Valentin Vacherot made history becoming the first Monégasque player to reach the quarter-finals, and subsequently the semi-finals, in Monte Carlo this week. His last 12 months are a fairytale, and possibly my favourite story in tennis for some time. This time last year he was 26-years-old and ranked around 250 in the world. He had only played one grand slam main draw match, and he was primarily playing on the challenger tour. Then in October it all changed when he was given a place in qualifying in Shanghai due to withdrawals, and he then went on to have a life changing run claiming the title. At the start of next week he will be world number 17, likely to be a top 16 seed at Roland Garros. This is what sport is all about, and all his years of slogging it at smaller tournaments has finally paid off. 

This week he took some big scalps; last year's finalist Musetti, Hurkacz and De Minaur were all victims of Vacherot’s brilliance. The Monégasque’s dream run came to an end at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz, losing 6-4 6-4 to the world number one and defending champion. Vacherot had a positive outlook after his defeat, saying “I will have those memories for the rest of my life”. A beautiful story, and a very down to earth guy - what's not to like. Consider me a Valentin Vacherot fan from here on out. Let’s go Val!

Vacherot makes the quarter finals

The Battle for Top Spot

It has taken this long to mention Sinner, Alcaraz and the battle for world number one, which is rather refreshing really. There was not only pride on the line in Monaco this week, but the top spot in the rankings was also up for grabs. Going into this week we knew that it was simple; Alcaraz had to perform if he wanted to stay at world number one. At the start of the week there were a variety of scenarios which could decide who would be world number one come Monday morning, as there always is, but put simply, unless Alcaraz went out very early, Sinner wouldn't have much of a chance at the number one spot. And to make it even simplier, when the final line-up was decided, it became a winner takes all situation. The winner becomes the 2026 Monte Carlo champion and world number one in one fell swoop.

Sinner came into the tournament in incredible form, having completed the sunshine double by triumphing in Indian Wells and Miami. He also held the record for consecutive sets won in Masters 1000 events (37) having not dropped a set since his round of 32 match against Tallon Griekspoor in Shanghai - a match he eventually went on to retire from. This record was broken when the Czech world number 53 Tomas Machac was able to take a set off of the Italian in their round of 16 clash, but Sinner came through in three. 

It has become customary to see a Sinner/Alcaraz final on the schedule at the end of each week. Their H2H before today’s match sat at 10-6 in favour of Carlos, with 4 of those meetings being on clay. Going into today, Sinner had not beaten Alcaraz on clay since 2022 and their last meeting on the dirt was the legendary 2025 Roland Garros final. Naturally, there was a lot of anticipation going into this match. Oh, and of course there is a crazy stat to go along with this final: both players spent exactly 5 hours and 59 minutes on court each. What are the chances?

The outcome was perhaps the more predictable one of the two; Jannik Sinner took the title 7-6(5) 6-3 in 2 hours 15 minutes. It was windy conditions at times, and Sinner handled it the better. There were too many unforced errors from Alcaraz in key moments, especially on his serve. Having been a break down early in each set Sinner knuckled down and fought back to claim his maiden Monte Carlo title. Sinner is due to have a week off this coming week, as he is not in the draw for either Barcelona or Munich. A well deserved rest.

What is coming up next week?

Clay court season is a jam packed nine weeks, we have two more 1000 events and a grand slam to look forward to. Next week, the focus for the WTA will be in Stuttgart, the 500 event where last year’s runner up Aryna Sabalenka has pulled out with injury, and the 250 event in Rouen where last year's champion Elina Svitolina has opted not to attempt to defend her title, choosing to play in Stuttgart instead. 

We have two ATP500 events next week; Barcelona and Munich. Both events have very strong fields, so many top stars to watch out for. Alcaraz, De Minaur, Felix AA, Musetti and Ruud will all be taking the court in Barcelona. In Munich we have Zverev, Shelton, Fonseca, Bublik and Cobolli to look forward to.

From a British perspective, Jack Draper will be starting his clay court season in Barcelona. Stan Wawkinka, who said goodbye to Monte-Carlo this week for the final time, has drawn Cam Norrie in the first round in Barcelona. Emma Raducanu is not due to play this week, as she works through some physical issues and illness - rumours say she will return to action at the WTA1000 event in Madrid later this month. Katie Boulter will be playing in Rouen this week, with Sonay Kartal out with injury.

In other news, Holger Rune has also announced his supposed return from his ruptured achilles injury will be in Hamburg in May. Rune has been sidelined since he sustained the horror injury in Stockholm in October. The 22-year-old Dane brings his fiery personality to the court and has been missed these last 7 months, so I am definitely happy to see him coming back soon - but I just hope he isn’t rushing his return. 

The excitement around the tennis season is growing and growing. Better timezones (for me as a Brit, anyway), sunnier days and the ramp up to the second slam of the year; no complaints from me!

Until next time, keep serving!

E x