Rolex Monte Carlo Masters—Monaco
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic advanced to the semifinals of the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters- Monaco on Friday, defeating No. 11 Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-4.
Dealing with the heat throughout the two-hour and four-minute encounter, Djokovic slammed two aces, won 64 percent of his first serve points, and broke his Australian opponent on five occasions.
The legendary Serb will next face either Ugo Humbert or Casper Ruud for a place in Sunday’s final.
Djokovic will be aiming to win his third title in Monaco this week. If he is successful, he will have won all nine Masters 1000 titles three times. No other player has won all nine Masters 1000 events even once.
Elsewhere, two-time former winner Stefanos Tsitsipas earned a semifinal place in this year’s tournament, defeating hard-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-2.
Rounding into impeccable form this week, Tsitsipas hit 20 winners to only eight unforced errors against his opponent. The Greek star also improved to 8-1 against Khachanov in lifetime meetings.
Tsitsipas previously won in Monte Carlo in 2021 and 2022.
Inform Italian Jannik Sinner needed two hours and 40 minutes to overcome a stern challenge from No. 7 seed Holger Rune earlier in the day. Tying his head-to-head meeting with the Dane at 2-all, Sinner also improved to 24-1 in 2024.
The 22-year-old will take 3-5 head-to-head deficit against Tsitsipas into Saturday’s semifinal clash.
Nadal Looks to Return
The Rolex Monte Carlo Masters is the first Masters 1000 event of the season on clay. It precedes the upcoming Masters 1000 events in Madrid, Spain and Rome, Italy. These premier events are integral warm ups for the French Open, which will begin on May 20th.
Rafael Nadal, who won in Monte Carlo 11 times, was sidelined this year with a back injury. He will look to make his return to competition next week at the 500 level event in Barcelona, Spain.
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz is also set to compete on home soil.
Watch all the action live this week from Monte Carlo on Tennis TV.
Get ready for the year’s second Major today, with great tickets to the French Open in Paris. Nadal is set to play to his most successful event for perhaps the last time in his career.
*****
Quarterfinal Results:
Novak Djokovic (1) Defeats Alex de Minaur (11) 7-5, 6-4
Jannik Sinner (2) Defeats Holger Rune (7) 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3
Stefanos Tsitsipas (12) Defeats Karen Khachanov (15) 6-4, 6-2
