Sinner and Alcaraz Begin Clay-Court Campaign with Convincing Wins
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, both contenders for the world number one ranking, commenced their clay-court seasons with decisive second-round victories at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Following his recent achievement of the 'Sunshine Double' without dropping a set, Sinner required just 64 minutes to defeat French player Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-0, conceding only six points in the second set.
This victory marked Sinner's 18th consecutive Masters 1000 win and extended his streak to 36 straight sets won at this level. Should Sinner win the tournament in Monaco, he will overtake Alcaraz as the world number one when the rankings are updated on Monday.
Later on Tuesday, Alcaraz, the defending champion, opened his clay season with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Argentina's Sebastian Baez, a six-time ATP Tour clay-court champion, in a 70-minute match.
This was Alcaraz's first clay match since his dramatic victory over Sinner in last year's French Open final, where he recovered from two sets down and saved three championship points to claim his second Roland Garros title.
Alcaraz, who held a 22-1 record on clay and secured three titles on the surface in 2025, has maintained the number one ranking since November.
"I'm going to lose number one in the world. I don't know if it is going to be at this tournament or the next one," said Alcaraz.
"I'm defending a bunch of points that are going to be really difficult to defend. Even if I defend them, Jannik is going to add some points.
"I will just try to play my best and let's see what happens, but for me the number one spot is not in my mind right now. I'm just trying to feel the best way on clay courts and let's see how the clay swing goes."
The points difference between Sinner and Alcaraz currently stands at 1,190 as the tour progresses into the European clay-court season.
Sinner has no ranking points to defend until the Italian Open in early May, having served a three-month suspension last year for failing two doping tests.
To surpass Alcaraz in the rankings, Sinner must reach at least the semi-finals in Monte Carlo and outperform Alcaraz's result.
In the next round, Sinner will face Argentine Francisco Cerundolo, while Alcaraz is set to play either Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina or France's Terence Atmane.
