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

Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner ended his 37-set winning streak at the Masters 1000 level but managed to defeat Tomas Machac 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Monte-Carlo Masters. Sinner had a remarkable run last month, becoming the first man to achieve the Sunshine Double without dropping a set, winning titles at Indian Wells and the Miami Open. He also won the Paris Masters last year. Despite struggling with fatigue, Sinner pushed through to secure the win over his Czech opponent, keeping his bid to dethrone current world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz alive. 'Not every day is the same. I was struggling a little bit, I was a bit tired,' Sinner said. 'I felt great before the match. In the second set, I struggled a bit to find the right energy, but this can happen.' 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 Spaniard fell into an unexpected battle in the second set when he made 23 unforced errors, allowing Etcheverry to force a third set. Alcaraz will play Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals, the first time the pair will play one another in an official tournament. Elsewhere, 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. Third seed Alexander Zverev defeated Zizou Bergs 6-2, 7-5 to reach the tournament's last eight for the first time since 2022. Australia's Alex De Minaur took a tight 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) win over qualifier Alexander Blockx. In the final match of the day, Valentin Vacherot made history as the first Monegasque in the Open Era to make the top eight in Monaco, following his 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4 win over Hubert Hurkacz. The second and third seeds, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Liudmila Samsonova, were knocked out of the Linz WTA 500 tournament. Samsonova was beaten by 18-year-old Lilli Tagger, a local wildcard, who is through to her first clay quarter-final. Three-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist Holger Rune will return to action at next month's Hamburg Open after having Achilles surgery in October.