Jannik Sinner has returned to world No 1 after beating Carlos Alcaraz in straights sets in the Monte-Carlo Masters final.
Sinner handled the gusty conditions in Monaco better than his rival Alcaraz to win 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 to take the coveted spot at the top of the ATP rankings from Alcaraz for the first time since November 2025.
The match did not hit some of the dizzying heights produced by tennis’ two best players last year but it was full of twists as Sinner turned around a second set deficit and will look to hold onto his world No 1 status in the build-up to next month’s French Open.
It was the first time Sinner has beaten Alcaraz on clay since 2022 and he also continues his incredible 22-match unbeaten run at Masters tournaments – the level below Grand Slams.
“The result is amazing. Getting back to No 1 means a lot to me,” said Sinner, who joins Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as the only men to win four consecutive ATP 1000 titles.
“At the same time, the ranking is secondary. I’m very happy to win at least one big trophy on this surface. I haven’t done it before, so it means a lot to me.”
Alcaraz said to Sinner: “It’s impressive what you are achieving right now. To win the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and the Miami Open) and Monte-Carlo, it’s incredible. Congratulations for the work you’re doing with your team.”
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz embrace after the Monte-Carlo Masters final
How Sinner got the better of Alcaraz
The 17th professional meeting between tennis’ two current superstars will not be remembered as a classic as both players struggled in the windy, overcast conditions.
Alcaraz came flying out of the blocks by breaking Sinner immediately but the latter got back to 2-2. Neither player was able to raise their level to break each other over the remainder of a close first set, despite break point chances for Sinner in the fifth and ninth game.
At 6-5 up, Alcaraz came within two points of the set but some big serving from Sinner got him out of trouble and he made the crucial first break in the tie-break. He squandered his first set point opportunity but a double fault from Alcaraz handed the opening set to Sinner after 74 minutes.
Jannik Sinner has now won 22 matches in a row at ATP 1000 level
It looked like Alcaraz was going to mount a comeback when he broke early in the second set. However, the Australian Open champion was struggling to hold serve and, inevitably, Sinner capitalised on several errors from Alcaraz to get back to 3-3.
He went on to win the next three games too as Alcaraz became frustrated and Sinner finally got on top of the variability in his opponent’s play to seal a first Monte-Carlo Masters title.
Alcaraz and Sinner will now decide if they play again this week in Barcelona, where Britain’s Jack Draper will be in action, before ATP 1000 events in Madrid and Rome follow in the run up to the French Open at the end of May.
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