A French Trap for Jannik Sinner
The Monte Carlo Masters 1000 is at the starting line: the draw for the men’s draw of the Principality’s tournament was held on Friday. Jannik Sinner will make his direct debut in the second round against the winner between the two Frenchmen Moïse Kouamé and Hugo Humbert, then in the round of 16 he could face either a clay specialist Stefanos Tsitsipas, a three-time winner in Monte Carlo, or another clay court player like Francisco Cerundolo. In the quarterfinals he could cross Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime or Norway’s Casper Ruud, while in the semifinals his opponent could be one between Russia’s Daniil Medvedev and Germany’s Alexander Zverev.
In the rest of the draw, title holder Carlos Alcaraz will make his second-round debut with the winner of the match between Argentina’s Sebastian Baez and Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka. On his side of the draw he could meet Lehecka, Bublik and Lorenzo Musetti, the tournament’s No. 4 seed. Absent, however, is Novak Djokovic, who forfeited after having already withdrawn from the Miami Masters 1000: the Serb has not missed the Principality since 2011, when he began a streak of fifteen consecutive appearances that earned him two titles, in 2013 and 2015.
As for the other Italians on the draw, Lorenzo Musetti will make his second-round debut against one of Valentin Vacherot and Kamil Majchrzak. Also on his side of the scoreboard are Flavio Cobolli, who will debut against a qualifier, and Luciano Darderi, playing against Poland’s Hurkacz. Matteo Berrettini, who is present thanks to a wild card, could face Daniil Medvedev on his way and then Joao Fonseca.
Sinner arrives at the tournament in the Principality back from an extraordinary moment of form: the South Tyrolean champion conquered the so-called “Sunshine Double,” winning consecutively the Indian Wells and Miami Masters 1000 without surrendering a single set. A domination that has impressed even the big names in world tennis, including former number one Justine Henin, who said at the microphones of Eurosport France, “Winning two Masters 1000s without losing a set may seem almost normal, but it actually says so much, not only about his dominance, but also about his ability to manage key moments.”
To speed up his adaptation to clay, a surface historically less favorable to him, Sinner chose to sign up for the doubles tournament as well, partnering with Belgian Zizou Bergs, current No. 46 in the rankings. The idea was born during training days in Indian Wells: as Koen Bergs, Zizou’s father, told Ubitennis microphones, “Jannik proposed that they play doubles together in Monte Carlo. Zizou would never have asked him, so he was surprised. I think Jannik really appreciates his attitude and personality.”
From a ranking standpoint, the stakes for Sinner are particularly high: having not participated in the tournament last year due to suspension for the Clostebol case, the South Tyrolean does not have to defend any points and could move even closer to – or even overtake – Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the ATP ranking. In his history in Monte Carlo, Sinner has always reached the final stages: in 2022 he was eliminated in the quarters by Zverev, while in 2023 and 2024 he fell in the semifinals against Rune and Tsitsipas, respectively.
