In Friday’s marquee quarter-final at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner lived up to the billing and then some by producing a Monaco classic over the course of three hours and seven minutes.

In a back-and-forth contest that saw 10 breaks of serve, Zverev finished strongest in a 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory to reach his second Monte Carlo semi-final.

“It means a lot, definitely, especially [with] how this year has been going so far for me,” said Zverev after his marathon win. “I’ve lost long matches like that, so I’m happy I won this one.”

The high level of play throughout the match belied the physical knocks both players battled through — Sinner with a foot blister and Zverev with a right thigh problem. Despite both men looking uneasy at times in between points, there was no let-up when the ball was in play as both combined big power with exceptional angles and touch in a thoroughly entertaining contest.

Zverev, who had not dropped a set until this quarter-final, continues to take advantage of his opportunity to close the gap on Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev atop the ATP Rankings. The World No. 3 can close to within 235 points of World No. 1 Djokovic with the title in Monte Carlo.

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Early breaks of serve were erased in all three sets, with Sinner coming from behind to take the opener and Zverev returning the favour in set two. The German was twice pegged back in the third, and forced a decisive tie-break after missing out on a break point at 5-5.

In the face of tremendous crowd support for his opponent, Zverev edged a 7/5 tie-break in which half of the points went against serve, roaring with delight when a Sinner backhand found the net on match point.

The German was delighted to come out on top in a see-saw battle as he hunts a first title of 2022. “I’ve lost so many matches [like that] this year,” he said. “I guess it’s in the back of my mind and I think this one will definitely help.”

Sinner was previously six-for-six in decisive sets on the 2022 ATP Tour season, and seven-for-seven in tie-breaks.

It looked like the Italian could wrap the match up in two sets after he scored an early break in the second. But after Sinner began to lose the positional battle and fell back beyond the baseline, Zverev suddenly became the aggressor. Once the match turned, Sinner’s dogged defense was not enough to halt the second seed’s relentless charge.

Zverev now awaits the winner of defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas’ matchup with Deigo Schwartzman.

Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah surged to their first semi-final of the 2022 season by halting Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title defence in the quarter-finals on Friday.

A break in each set was enough for the Colombian duo to secure a 6-4, 6-4 victory on Court des Princes as they reached a third semi-final at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Cabal and Farah came into Monte Carlo with a 5-7 record for the year but the former top-ranked pairing have looked back to their best in Monaco this week. They offered up no break point opportunities to Mektic and Pavic and won 81 per cent (30/37) of points behind their first delivery in the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

It was the second tour-level meeting between the two teams, with Cabal and Farah also defeating the Croatians in straight sets in the final of the 2021 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The Colombian duo now faces either eighth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer or wild card pairing Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals.

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Top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury stayed on track in their bid for a maiden title in Monte Carlo with a comfortable 6-4, 6-3 win over Tim Puetz and Michael Venus.

The American-British pairing is chasing a second Masters 1000 title after lifting the trophy at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto in 2021. The world’s top-ranked team seeks to celebrate Joe Salisbury’s first tournament at No. 1 in the ATP Rankings with the Monte Carlo crown, which would be the pair’s maiden tour-level title on clay.

Their next opponents will be Rohan Bopanna and Jamie Murray, who held their nerve to come through two dramatic tie-breaks and upset third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos earlier on Friday.

The Indian-British team won Match Tie-breaks in its opening two rounds in Monte Carlo and proved their mettle once again in the quarter-finals against four-time Masters 1000 champions Granollers and Zeballos. Bopanna and Murray saved two set points in each Tie-break to clinch a 7-6(8), 7-6(8) victory and book a semi-final appointment with the top seeds.

“It all starts from Monte Carlo.”

When Stefanos Tsitsipas lifted his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the 2021 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the Greek had a feeling that things had come full circle.

“My mum won the ladies tournament in Monte Carlo when she was 16 or 17 years old, and it was a big one for her,” the Greek recently told ATP Uncovered. “So, [the Monte Carlo Country Club] meant a lot to me. Getting that win in Monte Carlo was incredible for so many reasons, mostly because of my mum, but also because I first came there when I was six years old.

“It just means something extra when you’re stepping out on that Monte Carlo court. You can feel its legacy.”

Tsitsipas had impressed in the early stages of 2021, reaching the championship match in Acapulco and the semi-finals at the Australian Open and in Rotterdam, but he arrived in Monte Carlo still hunting a first title of the year. Those results were nonetheless enough to give him belief that he could go deep in the Principality.

“I was excited walking into the clay-court season with a lot of confidence and knowing that I can pull good things off,” he said. “I very much remember how I was trying to enjoy the process of it and not focus too much on the destination.”

Tsitsipas had not been past the third round in his two previous appearances in Monte Carlo, but he enjoyed a dream week as he roared to the title without dropping a set.

“It was a tournament where I felt like I was at home and every single day seemed to get better than the one before,” said Tsitsipas. “I was on a good run. I was feeling good with my game, and I was feeling like I can utilize all of my weapons and take advantage of my best strokes. And it kind of seemed to be working day after day.”

Tsitsipas saw off Aslan Karatsev, Cristian Garin and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina before taking out Daniel Evans, the Brit who had stunned top seed Novak Djokovic in the third round, to reach a third Masters 1000 final.

His opponent in the championship match was sixth seed Andrey Rublev, with both men seeking a maiden Masters 1000 crown. The Russian could not cope with Tsitsipas, however, as the Greek broke three times on his way to a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

“I knew that I was going to have to put out my best tennis against him because we both deserved our spot in the final,” said Tstisipas. “I was trying to stay as much as I could in the rallies, and I honestly couldn’t believe at the end how much my efforts paid off.

“It was a very good finish with my family being there and being very emotional at the end.”

Grigor Dimitrov continues to look comfortable on the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters clay.

The Bulgarian kept his focus to clinch a dramatic final set in a tie-break and upset Hubert Hurkacz on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 event for the second time.

The World No. 29 dug deep in the face of a strong comeback from 11th seed Hurkacz to clinch a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) victory and reach an eighth Masters 1000 semi-final.

Dimitrov produced trademark moments of brilliance for an excited crowd on Court Rainier III, but was just as happy to do the dirty work against an opponent who particularly found his range in the second and third sets.

The win backs up Dimitrov’s impressive third-round win over clay-court tour de force Casper Ruud. He will now attempt to reach a third Masters 1000 championship match in a semi-final clash with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, after the Spaniard defeated Taylor Fritz 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 earlier on Friday.

Hurkacz came into the match off the back of impressive wins over renowned dirtballers Pedro Martinez and Albert Ramos-Vinolas, but the Pole struggled to settle in the first set against Dimitrov. The Bulgarian took full advantage, pulling his opponent around the court to great effect and sealing the only break of the set to love in the third game.

World No. 11 Hurkacz found a much higher level in the second frame. The Pole broke for 4-2 and sealed the set with consecutive drop shots that caught his opponent off-guard.

Neither player gave an inch in a tense deciding set and the pair exchanged breaks twice, but it was Dimitrov who found something extra at the death. The Bulgarian hit with variety in the tie-break to force a frustrated Hurkacz into a series of errors as the 2017 Western & Southern Open champion clinched victory in two hours, 27 minutes.

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The pair’s sole previous tour-level meeting had also been a Masters 1000 quarter-final decided with a final-set tie-break, Dimitrov also prevailing on that occasion at the 2021 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. With the win, Dimitrov moves to a 20-8 record at the Monte Carlo event. Four of his defeats in the Principality have come against 11-time champion Rafael Nadal.

If Dimitrov reaches the final he should reclaim a spot in the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings on Monday, with the former World No. 3 already projected to rise to No. 23 following his win over Hurkacz.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina broke new ground Friday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, overcoming 10th seed Taylor Fritz 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

The Spaniard upset World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the second round and he demonstrated high levels of confidence against Fritz on Court Rainier III to further back up that win, after also eliminating Marrakech champion David Goffin in the third round.

The 22-year-old played with great intensity as he struck his groundstrokes with width to pull Fritz around the court. Davidovich Fokina consistently engaged the crowd throughout with his shotmaking and fist-pumping, advancing after two hours and 24 minutes.

“I am so, so happy,” Davidovich Fokina said in his on-court interview. “Last year I reached the quarter-finals. The emotions to be in the semi-finals are so high. I am enjoying every point. In the first set I had a lot of chances to break but I didn’t do it. But I just stayed focused and believed in myself.”

The World No. 46 now leads Fritz 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series and will next face 2018 semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov or 11th seed Hubert Hurkacz in the last four.

“When you beat the World No. 1 it gives you a lot of confidence physically, mentally and technically,” Davidovich Fokina added. “I am pushing myself every match to play harder and harder.”

Davidovich Fokina has a strong record at the clay-court event, having defeated Top 10 star Matteo Berrettini en route to the quarter-finals last season. Earlier this year he enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals in Doha, but arrived in Monte Carlo off the back of three straight defeats.

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Despite the scoreline, the first set was a close affair, with Fritz playing better in the key moments as he fended off all five break points. The American did struggle with a problem with his lower left ab, but it didn’t impact his level as he crushed forehands and demonstrated great touch around the net to move ahead.

Davidovich Fokina came roaring back in the second set though, stepping deep behind the baseline to take heavy cuts at the ball as he powered his shots with fierce accuracy. The Spaniard finally broke in the ninth game before he levelled the match on his first set point, letting out a scream in delight.

The Spaniard continued to put his foot down in the second set as he looked the fresher of the two, dominating the longer exchanges to triumph.

Fritz ended Rafael Nadal’s unbeaten start to the season to lift his maiden Masters 1000 trophy in Indian Wells in March and transferred his strong hard-court form onto the clay this week at the Monte Carlo Country Club.

The 24-year-old defeated wild card Lucas Catarina, Croatian Marin Cilic and countryman Sebastian Korda to become the first American to reach the last eight in Monte Carlo since Sam Querrey in 2008.

The Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters has progressed to the quarter-final stage, with four Top 10 seeds and a pair of unseeded players among those still in contention. Friday’s quarter-final lineup is headlined by the third career ATP Head2Head meeting between Alexander Zverev and Monaco fan-favourite Jannik Sinner, while defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on Diego Schwartzman in another must-see match.

While singles action takes centre stage on Court Rainier III, the doubles quarter-finals will feature on Court Des Princes. with five of the top six seeds still in contention.

View Schedule | View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw

[2] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. [9] Jannik Sinner (ITA)

After dismissing one top five seed in Andrey Rublev, first-time Monte Carlo quarter-finalist Sinner will look to repeat that feat against Zverev. The Italian has enjoyed tremendous fan support on his run to the last eight, never more so than in his comeback victory over Rublev on Thursday.

“It is for me very, very special playing here,” Sinner said of the electric atmosphere on Court Rainier III. “Obviously many, many Italians [in the] crowd. It’s incredible.”

After trailing by a set and a break and taking a medical timeout for treatment on a foot blister, Sinner turned the match around against Rublev, running out a comfortable winner in the end. 

“I know blisters now quite well,” he said post-match, looking ahead to Friday’s quarter-final. The 20-year-old was forced to retire with a similar problem in the Miami Open presented by Itau quarter-finals.

“I don’t think it’s a concern,” he added. “We have to treat it a little bit, obviously, but let’s see… Tomorrow is an important match.”

After facing the heavy-hitting Rublev, he can expect more of the same from Zverev, who powered past Pablo Carreno Busta to reach the quarter-finals.

“To win the biggest tournaments in the world, like Masters series, like Grand Slams, you have to be aggressive,” Zverev said. “I’m not going to win big titles just by pushing the ball.”

While Zverev has won five ATP Masters 1000 titles, he has been beyond the last 16 just once in five previous Monte Carlo appearances, when he reached the 2018 semi-finals

[3] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs. [12] Diego Schwartzman (ARG)

Defending champion Tsitsipas has extended his perfect set record from 2021 this week, notching a pair of straight-sets wins over Fabio Fognini and Laslo Djere to make it 13 consecutive stanzas won in Monte Carlo. Schwartzman reached the quarter-finals behind two comeback three-setters against Karen Khachanov and Lorenzo Musetti, either side of a win over Marton Fucsovics.

The Argentine leads the ATP Head2Head series between the pair 2-1, including a January victory in three sets at the ATP Cup.

Both men are experienced in the late stages of ATP Masters 1000s, with Tsitsipas playing in his 13th quarter-final and Schwartzman in his seventh. It’s a fifth clay-court quarter-final for the Greek at this level and fourth for Schwartzman, who matched his best run in Monte Carlo (2017) by reaching the last eight.

“Both [Schwartzman and Musetti] can compete well on clay,” Tsitsipas said before his quarter-final opponent was confirmed. “They both have a good game for clay courts and all I have to do is be ready and show up with good mentality and do my job with passion and dedication.”

[10] Taylor Fritz (USA) vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP)

Playing in his fourth quarter-final in the past five ATP Masters 1000 events, Taylor Fritz faces the man who knocked off Novak Djokovic in the second round. After a pair of three-set victories to open his Monte Carlo campaign, the 10th seed got through Sebastian Korda, 7-6(4), 7-5, in an all-American last-16 matchup.

Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has dropped just one set on the week, to Djokovic, and scored his most convincing win of the tournament with a 6-4, 6-1 decision over David Goffin on Thursday.

The quarter-final opponents have met just once before on the ATP Tour, with Davidovich Fokina winning in straight sets on the clay of Estoril in 2019. Fritz got the better of the Spaniard in qualifying for the 2018 Mutua Madrid Open.

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[11] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) vs. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)

Hubert Hurkacz, the 2021 Miami champion, will contest in his first clay-court ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final in this matchup. Dimitrov is in his fourth Monte Carlo quarter-final, with his best result in Monaco his 2018 semi-final run.

The pair’s ATP Head2Head history includes just one match, but it was a good one: Dimitrov defeated the Pole in a third-set tie-break in the quarter-finals of the 2021 BNP Paribas Open.

Both men have dropped just one set en route to the quarter-finals. Hurkacz is yet to face a seeded opponent on the week, but defeated 2017 Monte Carlo finalist Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Thursday. Dimitrov has dismissed 15th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili (via second-set retirement) and fourth seed Casper Ruud.

“It is always tough this week because you are switching surfaces,” Dimitrov said of his approach in Monte Carlo. “So I try and not be too tough on myself in practice. I just try to do the simple things. It is going so well so far.”

Doubles Quarter-final Action

A doubles tournament with few upsets has set the stage for a supreme bill of quarter-final action Friday on Court Des Princes. Top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury will take on fifth seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus, but only after second-seeded Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic face sixth-seeded Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.

Salisbury overtook Pavic for the top spot in the ATP Doubles Rankings after the Miami Open presented by Itau, where he reached the quarter-finals with Ram, and the top two seeds remain on course for a showdown in the Monte Carlo final.

SCHEDULE – FRIDAY, APRIL 14

COURT RAINIER III start 11:00 a.m.
A. Davidovich Fokina (ESP) vs. [10] T. Fritz (USA)
G. Dimitrov (BUL) vs. [11] H. Hurkacz (POL)
[9] J. Sinner (ITA) vs. [2] A. Zverev (GER)
[12] D. Schwartzman ARG) vs. [3] S. Tsitsipas (GRE)

COURT DES PRINCES start 11:00 a.m.
[3] M. Granollers (ESP) / H. Zeballos (ARG) vs. R. Bopanna (IND) / J. Murray (GBR)
[6] J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL) vs. [2] N. Mektic / M. Pavic
[1] R. Ram (USA) / J. Salisbury (GBR) vs. [5] T. Puetz (GER) / M. Venus (AUS)
[8] M. Arevalo (HON) / J. Rojer (NED) vs. [WC] M. Melo (BRA) / A. Zverev (GER)

Hubert Hurkacz not only reached the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters quarter-finals on Thursday with a 7-6(2), 6-2 win against 2017 finalist Albert Ramos-Vinolas, but he also entered the season of opportunity.

From this week through the week of 20 June — a span of 11 weeks — the Polish star is defending just 188 ATP Rankings points. Nobody ranked ahead of the World No. 14 is defending fewer than 300 points during the same stretch.

By advancing to the last eight in Monte Carlo, Hurkacz has already earned 180 points for this tournament alone. With his strong run in the Principality — which will continue on Friday against former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov — Hurkacz has already covered 96 per cent of the points he is defending for the next two-and-a-half months.

Hurkacz’s Upcoming Points To Defend

Hurkacz can still gain another 820 points in Monte Carlo, and he is competing in the ATP 500 in Barcelona before ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome and the season’s second Grand Slam at Roland Garros. With such a wealth of points up for grabs, the Pole has a chance to make a big move.

One year ago, he claimed just one win during his clay-court season and the two grass-court tournaments he played before Wimbledon. This year, he is off to a much better start for this stretch with victories against three clay-court standouts in Monaco: Hugo Dellien, Pedro Martinez and Ramos-Vinolas.

At Wimbledon, Hurkacz will defend 720 points because he reached the semi-finals at SW19 last year. But until then, plenty of opportunity awaits.

Top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury did not face a break point in their Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters opener until the last two points of the match.

Facing Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar Friday on Court Des Princes, the American-British duo saved them both to close out a 6-2, 6-3 victory. The second break chance came in a deciding point that doubled as match point, and the top seeds took the opportunity to slam the door shut on any last-ditch comeback attempt.

Ram and Salisbury are through to their third straight ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final, with last-four runs at the Australian Open and Indian Wells the best results of the 2022 season for the pair.

The last ATP Masters 1000 event in which they failed to register a win was in Paris last November, when they fell to Michael Venus and Tim Puetz. The Australian-German pairing awaits in Friday’s quarter-finals after it notched 4-6, 6-6, 10-4 win over Aslan Karatsev and John Peers on Wednesday.

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In the only other completed doubles match on Thursday, Rohan Bopanna and Jamie Murray edged Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda, 6-4, 6-7(9), 10-7. Fritz had previously beaten his American teammate in the Monte Carlo singles draw to open the day’s play.

Third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos also advanced to the quarter-finals, courtesy of a walkover against Daniel Evans and Diego Schwartzman, with the Argentine withdrawing due to fatigue following a three-set singles win over Lorenzo Musetti.

In a Thursday matchup of two of the in-form players of the 2022 ATP Tour season, Jannik Sinner engineered an inspired turnaround against Andrey Rublev to reach the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters quarter-finals for the first time, much to the delight of the Monaco crowd.

“It is for me very, very special playing here,” Sinner said of the electric atmosphere on Court Rainier III. “Obviously many, many Italians [in the] crowd. It’s incredible.”

With a 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 victory, Sinner improves to 19-3 on the year while 2021 Monte Carlo finalist Rublev drops to 19-5. The Italian has now reached the last eight at consecutive ATP Masters 1000 events following his Miami run in March.

After being forced to retire with a foot blister in his Miami quarter-final against Francisco Cerundolo, Sinner received a medical timeout early in the second set to have his right toe re-dressed. But he was able to overcome any discomfort to score what finished as a convincing win to close the day’s play in Monaco.

“I know blisters now quite well,” he said post-match, looking ahead to his quarter-final showdown with second seed Alexander Zverev. “I don’t think it’s a concern. We have to treat it a little bit, obviously, but let’s see… Tomorrow is an important match.”

Both Sinner and Rublev showed great attacking intent throughout, punishing short balls with no mercy, but the Italian’s defense and retrieving frustrated his opponent more and more as the match wore on.

After seeming to struggle with his movement late in the opening set, Sinner showed no signs of slowing down after taking the initiative in the second. He looked in real danger after dropping serve in the opening game of set two — a repeat of his start to the match — but found a new level to dominate the match, finishing with 35 winners. 

“It was tough. I tried to play every point,” Sinner assessed. “I know him quite well. He plays quite a lot with the forehand. I tried to move him a little bit.”

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After winning six straight games to take the second, including a run of nine points in a row, Sinner edged in front twice in the decider. His second break of the set put him in the lead for good, and his seventh break of the match closed out the victory after two hours and 20 minutes.

Sinner, a Miami quarter-finalist each of the last two years, is through to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final on clay. He has already reached a pair of Grand Slam quarter-finals in his young career, at Roland Garros in 2020 and in January at the Australian Open.