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

Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner ended his 37-set winning streak at Masters 1000 level but still managed to defeat Tomas Machac 6-1 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the Monte-Carlo Masters. Sinner had previously won titles at Indian Wells and the Miami Open without dropping a set and also claimed the Paris Masters title last year. Despite struggling with fatigue, Sinner recovered to secure the win and continue his bid to dethrone current world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. "Not every day is the same, I was struggling a bit, I was a bit tired," Sinner explained. Sinner will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals after the sixth seed progressed when Casper Ruud retired due to injury. Alcaraz also dropped a set before defeating Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-1 4-6 6-3 to continue his title defence. The Spaniard made 23 unforced errors in the second set, allowing Etcheverry to win, but recovered to take the third set. Alcaraz will play Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals, their first official tournament match. Elsewhere, 19-year-old Joao Fonseca eased past Matteo Berrettini 6-3 6-2 to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final, while Alexander Zverev defeated Zizou Bergs 6-2 7-5 to reach the last eight for the first time since 2022. 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 reach the top eight in Monaco with a 6-7(4) 6-3 6-4 win over Hubert Hurkacz. In other news, Holger Rune will return to action at next month's Hamburg Open after having Achilles surgery in October.