Over the weekend Holger Rune did double-duty, completing his title run at the Sanremo Challenger while qualifying for the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters less than an hour’s drive away. The confidence is showing in the #NextGenATP Dane’s play.

Rune defeated Aslan Karatsev 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-3 after two hours and 33 minutes on Tuesday to reach the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 event.

“Eight solid matches in eight days and now we continue to [the] second round of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters,” Rune wrote on Instagram.

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The World No. 79, who gained 12 spots in the ATP Rankings following his ATP Challenger Tour victory last week, saved seven of the 10 break points he faced against Karatsev. He will next face fourth seed Casper Ruud, with the winner to face former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov, who rallied past Serbian Dusan Lajovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Tuesday.

One year ago, Ruud defeated Rune 6-2, 6-1 in Monte Carlo. But Rune has an opportunity to earn his revenge against the Norwegian and claim his first Top 10 win.

The 18-year-old Rune is one of two teens inside the world’s Top 100, with the other being recent Miami Open presented by Itau champion Carlos Alcaraz. Both competed in last year’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

Wednesday’s play at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters will whittle the men’s singles draw down to the last 16, with a star-studded lineup set to grace the red clay courts in Monaco.

Carlos Alcaraz will make his debut at the ATP Masters 1000 event, fresh off his first title at that level in Miami. The Spaniard will open play on Court Rainier III, with Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Zverev to follow. Four more Top 10 seeds headline the action on Court Des Princes.

View Schedule | View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw

[8] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs. Sebastian Korda (USA)

Alcaraz’s scintillating 10-1 run in Indian Wells and Miami left many wondering if hard courts may be his best surface. But the 18-year-old grew up on clay courts in Spain, and already has two clay titles to his name in Umag and Rio de Janeiro. 

Entering Monte Carlo at a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 11, Alcaraz has a chance to once again showcase his prowess on the dirt.

“I’m so excited to play after the Masters 1000 in Miami,” he said after arriving in Monaco for the first time. “I’m really excited to play on clay and really excited to play in front of the Monte Carlo crowd.”

He will face a tough opening test against 21-year-old Sebastian Korda, who pushed Rafael Nadal to a third-set tie-break in Indian Wells. The World No. 42 American knocked off Botic van de Zandschulp, 7-5, 6-4, in the Monte Carlo first round.

Their Wednesday meeting is a rematch of the 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals championship match, which Alcaraz won in straight sets. But despite his growing trophy collection, Alcaraz remains grounded.  

“I will always be the same person. l will never change,” he said in a pre-tournament interview. “I’ll just be confident, of course, doing the selifes, doing autographs and everything. But I will be always the same person.”

(6) Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) vs. Lorenzo Musetti (ITA)

Two more youngsters will battle it out on the Monte Carlo show court as the 21-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime takes on 20-year-old #NextGenATP star Lorenzo Musetti. The pair split their previous two ATPHead2Head meetings, with both matches requiring three sets during the European clay swing in 2021.

After reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals and taking a two-set lead against Daniil Medvedev, Auger-Aliassime had a career month in February. He followed up his first ATP Tour title in Rotterdam by reaching the Marseille final, but slumped to two first-round exits at the March Masters 1000s. The Canadian will look to recapture his early-season form in Monte Carlo, where he has one win in three appearances. 

“I feel good. I know the things I could have done better in those matches that I’ve lost,” he said, reflecting on his recent performances. “I feel like overall my tennis is improving. I’m figuring out myself more and more, becoming a better player… I’m confident I can play well on this clay swing.”

Musetti picked up his first Monte Carlo victory in a 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-2 result over Benoit Paire on Tuesday. The World No. 83 is making his second appearance in Monaco.

(2) Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. Federico Delbonis (ARG)

Alexander Zverev has won three clay-court ATP Masters 1000 titles and reached the Monte Carlo semi-finals in 2018, but has not been beyond the last 16 since in Monaco. The World No. 3 and two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion reached the Miami quarter-finals in his last appearance, and counts a run to the Montpellier final as his best result on the season.

Federico Delbonis ended a five-match losing streak by beating Jaume Munar, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 on Monday and will seek his first victory against the German on Wednesday. Zverev leads the pair’s ATPHead2Head series 2-0, with both matches coming on clay in 2019.

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Best Of The Rest

With eight of the tournament’s Top 10 seeds in action Wednesday, there’s no shortage of star power. The only Top 10 seeds not in action are Stefanos Tsitsipas (through to the last 16 after a 6-3, 6-0 win over Fabio Fognini) and Novak Djokovic (eliminated by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina).

Rounding out the play on Court Rainier III is fourth seed Casper Ruud’s matchup with Danish qualifier and #NextGenATP contender Holger Rune.

Court Des Princes will feature Andrey Rublev, Cameron Norrie, Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner, with Rublev taking on Alex de Minaur in the evening’s final match.

Three doubles matches complete the Day 4 slate, with second seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic set to take on Tsitsipas and brother Petros Tsitsipas on Court 2 after three singles matches.

SCHEDULE – WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12

COURT RAINIER III start 11:00 a.m.

[8] C. Alcaraz (ESP) vs. S. Korda (USA)
[4] C. Ruud (NOR) vs. [Q] Holger Rune (DEN)
[6] F. Auger-Aliassime (CAN) vs. L. Musetti (ITA)
[2] A. Zverev (GER) vs. F. Delbonis (ARG)

COURT DES PRINCES start 11:00 a.m.

[7] C. Norrie (GBR) vs. A. Ramos-Vinolas (ESP)
[10] T. Fritz (USA) vs. M. Cilic (CRO)
[9] J. Sinner (ITA) vs. [Q] E. Ruusuvuori
[5] A. Rublev vs. A. de Minaur (AUS)

COURT 2 start 11:00 a.m.

[16] L. Sonego vs. L. Djere (SRB)
D. Evans (GBR) vs. [WC] D. Goffin (BEL)
[12] D. Schwartzman (ARG) vs. M. Fucsovics (HUN)
[2] N. Mektic (CRO) / M. Pavic (CRO) vs. P. Tsitsipas (GRE) / S. Tsitsipas (GRE)

COURT 9 start 11:00 a.m.
[6] J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL) vs. S. Gonzalez (MEX) / A. Molteni (ARG)
[11] H. Hurkacz (POL) vs. P. Martinez (ESP)
[13] P. Carreno Busta (ESP) vs. A. Bublik (KAZ)

COURT 11 start 2:00 p.m.
[5] T. Puetz (GER) / M. Venus (AUS) vs. A. Karatsev / J. Peers (AUS)

Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev pulled off a shock win at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Tuesday, powering past 2016 champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut to reach the quarter-finals on their ATP Masters 1000 team debut.

The big-serving Brazilian-German duo ran out 7-5, 6-4 winners over Herbet and Mahut, who came into the second-round clash with a 7-1 team record for 2022 having clinched a 22nd ATP Tour title in Montpellier in February.

According to Infosys ATP Stats, Melo and Zverev won 80 per cent (37/46) of points behind their first delivery in the match. This gave the wild cards a foundation from which to attack, and they broke their opponents three times on the way to victory in 81 minutes.

Melo and Zverev’s quarter-final opponents will be Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer, after the eighth seeds overcame Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic 6-3, 6-3. El Salvadorian Arevalo and Dutchman Rojer are hunting their third title of 2022 after triumphing on the hard courts in Dallas and Delray Beach.

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The first round was completed on Tuesday at the Monte Carlo Country Club, with the final three matches played. Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar edged out Croatian pairing Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig with a 2-6, 6-4, 10-4 win, while there was also Match Tie-break joy for Daniel Evans and Diego Schwartzman, who beat Monagesque wild cards Romain Arneodo and Hugo Nys 4-6, 7-5, 12-10.

Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni also advanced to the second round, taking out Nikoloz Basilashvili and Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-4. The Mexican-Argentine pairing has already clinched two clay-court titles in 2022, lifting the trophies in Cordoba and Buenos Aires, but is still seeking a maiden Masters 1000 crown.

In a matchup of the last two Monte Carlo champions, defending champ Stefanos Tsitsipas overwhelmed 2019 winner Fabio Fognini on Tuesday evening.

The Greek continued his dominant form at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters with a 6-3, 6-0 win. After claiming the 2021 title without dropping a set, he extended his streak to 11 consecutive sets with the victory. 

Adapting to the unusually cold and windy conditions at the Monte Carlo Country Club, Tsitsipas made a fast start in his first clay-court match of the season.

“Great things out there. I was able to really perform close to my best and deliver the result that I did,” Tsitsipas assessed, noting the conditions limited the typical clay-court bounce of the ball. “Nevertheless, I was still able to generate some good pace and create some good angles which gave me a lot of points.”

A @steftsitsipas winner from court-level 😍#RolexMCMasters pic.twitter.com/IJYTCky5gR

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 12, 2022

Tsitsipas won the opening three games of each set, and while Fognini was able to come back to level the first, he had no answers beyond that as the third seed pressed home his advantage. From 3-3 in the opening set, Tsitsipas reeled off the last nine games in a row to ease into the last 16. The turning point of set two came in the second game as Tsitsipas erased a pair of break points across four deuces to consolidate an opening break.

As the Italian’s resistance waned, Tsitsipas raced through the second set in 30 minutes. He saved six of seven break points across both sets and was aided by 34 unforced errors from Fognini.

Tsitsipas’ dominance was reflected in the Balance of Power breakdown, showing that the Greek was in an attacking position 24% of the time compared to Fognini’s 14%. (Learn more about Balance of Power.)

The 23-year-old can now enjoy a day off as he awaits the winner of Wednesday’s second-round matchup between 16th seed Lorenzo Sonego and Serbia’s Laslo Djere.

While Tsitsipas is the defending champion, Fognini was defending 500 ATP Ranking points in Monte Carlo — half of the 1,000 points he earned for winning the 2019 title.

Despite being disappointed after his stunning second-round Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters loss on Tuesday, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was quick to praise the man who defeated him, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

“I would like to congratulate Alejandro. He was the better player. He managed to find a better rhythm I think in the first two sets,” Djokovic said. “I was hanging on the ropes the entire match. I was really chasing the result constantly.”

It seemed the two-time tournament champion would take over the match after escaping the second-set tie-break, in which he was two points from losing in straight sets. The Serbian urged the crowd to get involved and had a big smile on his face as the fans cheered for him

But Davidovich Fokina never went away. Although Djokovic battled until the end, he was unable to raise his level consistently enough to claw past the Spaniard.

“I always believed that I could come back and win the match, and I stayed there even though a lot of things were against me in terms of how I felt on the court. Game-wise, physically I was just far from my best,” Djokovic said. “So of course in those types of conditions and circumstances, then you have to really work two times more than you normally would. And again, I played a clay-court specialist. He had a match already on centre court a few days ago.

“I expected this match to be [a] really tough match, [a] physical battle, and that’s what it was. Unfortunately I’m on the shorter end of the stick, and my week ends here.”

Djokovic has not advanced past the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo since 2015, the last time he won the title. The slow start to his clay-court season did not surprise the Serbian.

“I knew a few days ago when I spoke to you that it’s going to take some time for me to really feel my best on the clay,” Djokovic said. “That’s historically always been the case. [I have] never played very well in the opening tournaments of the clay season.

“But it’s okay. Obviously it is what it is. I have to accept the defeat and keep working.”

What concerned the World No. 1 most was how he felt in the deciding set, in which he won just 45 per cent of his service points.

“I didn’t like the way I felt physically in the third. I just ran out of the gas completely,” Djokovic said. “Just couldn’t really stay in the rally with him. I mean, if you can’t stay in the rally, not feeling your legs on the clay, it’s mission impossible.”

The 34-year-old does not have much time to get back on track. Djokovic will be in action next week on home soil at the Serbia Open in Belgrade.

“I’m going to look with my team into reasons why that was the case and go back to the drawing board,” Djokovic said. “Hopefully next week will be better in Belgrade.”

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is showing plenty about his tennis by battling Novak Djokovic in a deciding set at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. But something that you might not know about the Spaniard off the court is that he loves animals.

Davidovich Fokina last year launched Adoptas.org, a platform that helps facilitate the adoption of pets from Spanish shelters. It also provides information to help people better understand the adoption process.

“[I’ve loved animals] since I was little, even though I was not allowed to have pets as a child because my mom thought they gave me allergies,” Davidovich Fokina said last year. “After school, I used to play for hours with a dog that would come up to my door, and I would pet her.

“Whenever I see a stray animal, I go to the store and get something to feed it. And if it’s in bad shape, I call a shelter. Pets are not stuffed toys and they should not be mistreated. I have two cats and they are like my children to me, it would never occur to me to abandon them or mistreat them.”

The 22-year-old carries his care for animals onto the court, too. If you look at his shirt, Adoptas.org is on his sleeve. The project remains one of Davidovich Fokina’s biggest passions.

“Announcing this makes me more nervous than playing tennis,” Davidovich Fokina said around the time of the platform’s launch. “I’m doing this out of a love for animals, and because I’m outraged by pet abandonment.”

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina had won just seven games across two previous meetings with Novak Djokovic coming into the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, but the World No. 46 banished those demons in style on Tuesday with a stunning upset on the Monaco clay.

The Spaniard struck the ball with power and accuracy throughout the second-round clash, recovering from the disappointment of losing a tight second-set tie-break to clinch a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1 victory at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

“This win is so special for me because I grew up watching Nole and I’m a big fan of his,” said Davidovich Fokina in his on-court interview. “I look at him every tournament, every match. Here in Monte Carlo, full of people, against the No. 1, I enjoyed every moment and I’m so happy.”

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It was Djokovic’s first match since his quarter-final defeat to Jiri Vesely at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February and the top seed was given little room to find his feet by his tenacious opponent at the Monte Carlo Country Club.

The World No. 1 may have enjoyed comfortable wins over the Spaniard at the 2021 Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome and the Tokyo Olympics, but Davidovich Fokina reached the quarter-finals on debut in Monte Carlo in 2021 and is renowned as one of the toughest competitors on Tour.

Any illusions of a third consecutive landslide victory for Djokovic over the Spaniard were shattered early on Court Rainier III as Davidovich Fokina broke three times on his way to the first set, with an out-of-sorts Djokovic offering up 16 unforced errors in the frame.

A topsy-turvy second set featured six breaks of serve, and although Djokovic failed to serve it out at 5-4, the Serb produced a stunning forehand pass to clinch the tie-break.

Daviodovich Fokina was not to be denied, however. The Spaniard continued to successfully pressure the Djokovic serve and he broke three times in the deciding set to complete the biggest win of his career in two hours and 54 minutes.

“I started [well] from the beginning because I knew that Nole [hasn’t played] a lot,” said Davidovich Fokina. “Then I had to focus on every point because I had my chances from the beginning and I just did it.

“When he won the second set it was tough mentally, but I am working so hard to be more focussed. It doesn’t matter if I lost the second set or I lost the first set. I have to be prepared for the war.”

The Spaniard’s return game proved crucial to his victory. According to Infosys ATP Stats, he won 45 per cent (34/76) of points against Djokovic’s first serve, numbers that enabled him to break the Serb nine times in the match.

The defeat marks the first time Djokovic has lost his opening match at a tournament since falling to Marin Klizan in Barcelona in 2018.

Davidovich Fokina can equal his 2021 Monte Carlo quarter-final run with a win in his third-round clash with World No. 27 Daniel Evans or wild card David Goffin.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is one of Spain’s brightest young talents on the ATP Tour. The 22-year-old, who competed in the 2019 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, has already climbed as high as No. 32 in the ATP Rankings.

ATP Tour.com caught up with Davidovich Fokina, who defeated Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, to chat about his life on Tour, the time a friend flew tennis shoes across the world for him, how he deals with jetlag — hint, there is a lot of coffee involved — and more.

Watch Next Stop: Vlogging Down Under

When you pack for a trip, outside of tennis gear, what are things you always have to bring with you?
My headphones because I love to hear music in the plane or at the airport. Most of the time I forget things, then they have to bring them to me after, like at the US Open [lat year] I forgot my t-shirt. In Australia [three years ago], I forgot my shoes. So… my headphones and my clothes!

What happened in Australia? How did you get the shoes?
A friend of ours came to Australia with like five pairs of shoes. We called him, and he came the day after, but he enjoyed it. He enjoyed Australia!

Have you ever travelled to a tournament because you wanted to see the city, or you just pick because of the tennis?
Because of tennis. The calendar that we have, it’s so simple and we have to pick which one is better for us and for me to play, and that’s it.

What’s your favourite city to visit for a tournament?
I love Brisbane in Australia. I love it. When I went there was like an artificial beach in the middle of the city and I loved that.

Where’s your favourite place to go on vacation?
I want to go to Mexico, I’ve never been there. They told me that it’s a very good [place]. I went last year or two years ago to Punta Cana, and the beach and parties and everything there were so good.

As a player you have a lot of long flights. Is there anything you do to take care of your body, maybe after the flight or during the flight?
Most of the tournaments we bring a physio, and he takes care of me before the match, after the match, and of course the physios from the tournament are very good, too. I take of myself every day.

How do you get comfortable on the plane?
We started travelling when I was 10, 11 years old, so for me being in the airport is like my second home. In the plane if I put my headphones in and listen to music or watch series, most of the time that’s it. It’s like a routine.

You get to the airport early or just on time?
Depends on my coach, and when he picks me up!

So it doesn’t matter to you?
No, I want to be two hours early at the airport to make sure I can make it.

You’ve never missed a flight?
No, never.

How do you deal with jetlag?
When we went to Indian Wells, and we came back after only one week there, it was too tough. It was like nine hours’ time difference and when we came back to Spain, I was dead. I needed four or five days to be in rhythm again in Spain.

^{Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images}
How do you try to get rid of the jetlag? Just stay up and not sleep?
For example, when I came back from Indian Wells, I drank five coffees because I wanted to stay up and not sleep in the day. I went with my friends outside to have a coffee and talk, because if I stayed at home I was going to sleep for sure.

A lot of players have crazy travel stories. Do you have any?
No, fortunately we have had luck. I’ve never had any troubles.

When you’re on the road, how do you make yourself feel at home?
I keep talking with my friends, enjoying every moment with my team, when we are outside and to be more comfortable during the day, because it’s tough when you fly a lot of weeks and you’re away from home. You have to watch series or do things like you are at home when you are in the hotel.

When you sign up for tournaments, do you like trying new tournaments or ones you are used to already?
Depends on if I did well last year or not! For example, I love to play in Estoril because it was my first ATP tournament and I got to the semi-finals and I have good memories there, but I don’t care where I go. I want to play, enjoy every moment and that’s it.

How much fun is it for you getting to travel the world as a professional tennis player?
It’s very fun, I like what I do, I like this sport and I love to travel and enjoy every city where I’ve never been. I’m a little bit hyperactive, I want to do a lot of things when I am out, to go here or go there, so for me it’s a lot of fun.