Sinner and Alcaraz Advance to Quarter-Finals at Monte-Carlo Masters

Jannik Sinner's streak of 37 consecutive sets won at Masters 1000 level came to an end, but he still managed to defeat Tomas Machac 6-1 6-7(3) 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the Monte-Carlo Masters. Sinner had previously won the Sunshine Double without dropping a set and also claimed the Paris Masters title last year. Despite struggling with fatigue, Sinner recovered to seal the victory over his Czech opponent and continues his pursuit to dethrone current world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals after the sixth seed progressed when Casper Ruud was forced to retire. Alcaraz also dropped a set before taking a 6-1 4-6 6-3 win over Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry to continue his title defence. The pressure is on Alcaraz as a title run for Sinner could mean he regains the world No.1 spot. Alcaraz will play Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals, while 19-year-old Joao Fonseca eased past Matteo Berrettini 6-3 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of a Masters 1000 event for the first time. Alexander Zverev defeated Zizou Bergs 6-2 7-5 to reach the tournament's last eight for the first time since 2022. In other matches, Alex De Minaur took a tight 7-5 7-6 (7-4) win over qualifier Alexander Blockx, and Valentin Vacherot made history as the first Monegasque in the Open Era to make the top eight in Monaco. Vacherot's victory on home soil comes just eight months after his breakthrough where he became the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 champion since the series' inception in 1990. The second and third seeds, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Liudmila Samsonova, were knocked out of the Linz WTA 500 tournament. Holger Rune will return to action at next month's Hamburg Open after having Achilles surgery in October. Rune suffered the season-ending Achilles tendon rupture in the Stockholm Open semi-finals and is eager to return to competition.