The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tsitsipas again wins in Monaco; Alcaraz still bothered by injury
Stefanos Tsitsipas swept aside Casper Ruud 6-1, 6-4 on Sunday to win the clay-court Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco for the third time in four years, then wept in his chair.
Tsitsipas, 25, sat holding his head in his hands, briefly crying as he took in his first title of the year and biggest tournament victory in two years.
“I’m very proud of myself today. I had been waiting for a moment like this for a long time,” said Tsitsipas, ranked 12th in the world after reaching as high as No. 3, in 2021. “I did not know what was going to happen this week.”
Tsitsipas, a big-serving Greek, also won the tournament in 2021 and ’22, and this latest trophy at the Monte Carlo Country Club took him to 11 career titles overall. It was his first trophy since August last year, when he won a modest ATP 250-level tournament on outdoor hard courts at Los Cabos in Mexico.
This was much more prestigious, and he shared a warm hug at the net with Ruud, who was chasing his first title of the year.
The match featured former French Open runner-ups and offered an early indication of form heading into the clay-court major at next month’s Roland Garros.
Tsitsipas was an outsider coming into this tournament, where he was seeded 12th. But he got the better of Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinals, handing him only his second defeat of the season to set up an unexpected final against Ruud, a Norwegian who beat topranked Novak Djokovic in Saturday’s other semi.
Tsitsipas took an early control. He broke Ruud’s serve and held for 3-1, then secured another break of serve when eighthseeded Ruud flapped a loose forehand into the net from the back of the court. Ruud double-faulted on set point.
Ruud improved in the second set and pressured Tsitsipas, who saved three break points and took 13 minutes to hold serve in a tough seventh game. That seemed to be Ruud’s last chance while also summing up his erratic match, where he made too many unforced errors and failed to convert any of his eight break-point chances.
Tsitsipas hit an ace to win his next service game, leaving Ruud needing to hold serve to stay in the match. An unforced error at 30-30 saw Ruud patting a straightforward-looking backhand long to offer Tsitsipas a first match point. He seized the moment.
Tsitsipas dominated a brief rally and clinched victory with a forehand winner, then slid on his back with his arms outstretched and put his hands on his face.
“I managed the point relatively well and finished it with the winner,” Tsitsipas said.
Alcaraz will miss the Barcelona Open
Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the Barcelona Open on Sunday with the same injury in his right forearm that kept him out of the Monte Carlo Masters, leaving his French Open preparation on hold. Alcaraz, 20, is a two-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player who is currently No. 3.
He won the title at the claycourt Barcelona Open in 2022 and ’23. He hasn’t played in a tournament since losing to Grigor Dimitrov in the Miami Open quarterfinals last month.
Alcaraz won the U.S. Open in 2022 and Wimbledon last year. His lone trophy so far this season came at Indian Wells, California, in March.
The French Open begins May 26.
Alcaraz reached the semifinals there last year before losing to eventual champion Djokovic.