Neither Jannik Sinner nor Carlos Alcaraz had things all their own way on Thursday but both progressed against in-form opponents to remain on-track for a meet-up in the final of this year’s Monte-Carlo Masters.
Whilst Sinner and Alcaraz have created something of a duopoly in world tennis, there was a reminder that neither were infallible as both were tested on the clay of the Monte-Carlo Country Club. “I found myself in a difficult position,” admitted Sinner after his win over Tomas Machac. The Czech found himself in hostile surroundings, with his fans drowned out by another strong Italian following. However, he came into this tournament with confidence, having won his second ATP title just last month.
Machac may not have bettered Sinner but he did at least shatter the prevailing feeling of invincibility. On Wendesday, Daniil Medvedev suffered a humbling ‘Double Bagel’ on Court Rainier III (6-0, 6-0), and when broken on his first two service games by Sinner, he may have briefly feared a familiar fate. Winning one service game spared him (6-1), but didn’t provide hope of a challenge.
Yet Machac did resist. Sinner missed a break point in the second game before his Czech opponent then fought back. Broken a first time, the Italian crowd tried to lift their national icon later in the set. However, he would succumb to a second break of serve (5-2). It was a long way back for Sinner to prevent ceding his first set in a Masters event since Shanghai back in October, a run extending an incredible 37 sets.
He did roar back, breaking Machac twice to take the second set to a tie-break, however, to the disappointment of the Tifosi, Machac would prevail (7-3) and take the match to a deciding set. Sinner regained his composure, broke Machac in the third game and then again in the ninth, avoiding a minor scare (6-1, 6-7, 6-3), but giving reason for optimism for Alcaraz, who needed to dispatch Tomás Etcheverry to secure his place in the quarter-finals.
As Sinner did earlier in the day, Alcaraz broke Etcheverry, who won his first-ever ATP event earlier this year, three times in the first set. His dominance was assured but then shaken in the second. The Spaniard, defending his title, was broken in the third game and then again in the fifth. An immediate reply in the sixth was in vain as No.30 seed Etcheverry saw out the second set (6-4).
Alcaraz teased an opening in the first game of the third set with a double double fault, but having held, the Spaniard then broke on Etcheverry’s first service game. As the sun began to set over centre court, Etcheverry’s hope dimmed, the error from the world’s No.1 not forthcoming. He would not go quietly into the night, denying two match points valiantly before falling on the third (6-1, 4-6, 6-3).
With Sinner and Alcaraz needing over two hours each to overcome their opponents, the sun had already set when Valentin Vacherot came out on Court Rainier III. After the emotion of beating world No.5 Lorenzo Musetti on centre court the night before (7-6, 7-5), the Monégasque had to dial back in progress to the quarter-finals at the expense of No.74 seed Hubert Hurkacz.
Monaco’s history-maker Vacherot moves into world top 20
Faltering on centre court against lower-ranked opponents became a trend on Thursday and Vacherot did not buck it, losing the first set (7-6). However, the Monégasque came charging back in the second (6-3). In a close game, prevailing in key moments was going to be key and it is in this domain that Vacherot had the upper hand. The Monégasque took four of his eight break points, Hurkacz just two of his 13 and the latter would rue his wastefulness. It was in the seventh game that Vacherot, after a gruelling 10 minutes, would take the lead, which, despite being led 40-15 when serving for the match, he would not concede (6-7, 6-3, 6-4).
With the clock ticking past 21:30, the Monégasque supporters, who savoured the high and lows of the nearly three-hour game, were rewarded with a memorable and historic victory. It is a win that sees Vacherot move into the top 20 in the world rankings, becoming the first Monégasque to do so. When he plays against Alex De Minaur in his quarter-final on Friday, despite playing on familiar clay, he will be in unknown territory. No Monégasque has ever gone this far in the competition. Records have tumbled, and Vacherot will want to continue to break even more before the week is out.
Stay updated with Monaco Life: sign up for our free newsletter, catch our podcast on Spotify, and follow us across Facebook,  Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tik Tok.
Photo credit: Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life