Alcaraz defeats Davidovich Fokina to enter first Monte Carlo final

Carlos Alcaraz continued his impressive start to his clay campaign on Saturday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where he reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final in 13 months.

The 21-year-old Spaniard earned a hard-fought 7-6(2), 6-4 victory over countryman Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to advance to his first final at this level since winning Indian Wells last March. Alcaraz let slip three set points in a testing, 65-minute opener and ultimately needed six match points to reach his 23rd tour-level final.

“It’s been a long time,” said Alcaraz of his 13-month absence in Masters 1000 finals. “I just had to be patient and believe that this moment was going to come again. Sometimes the people are not patient, they want me to make the final in every tournament. I’m really happy to give them the chance to watch one of my finals again.”

Now into his third consecutive clay-court final after winning Roland Garros and claiming a silver medal at the Paris Olympics last year, Alcaraz awaits Alex de Minaur or Lorenzo Musetti. The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings is chasing his maiden Masters 1000 trophy on the surface outside of Madrid (2022-23).

If Alcaraz claims his first Monte-Carlo crown, and a sixth Masters 1000 title, he will surpass Alexander Zverev for World No. 2. Just by reaching the final, the Spaniard has overtaken Jannik Sinner to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

“I think I played really good tennis from the beginning until the last point,” added Alcaraz. “I tried to take the chances he gave me in the match. He saved a lot of break points and match points, but I’m really happy to [have] thought about myself. The most important thing is that I’m feeling great physically.”

With his run to the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo, Davidovich Fokina secured his return to the Top 30 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time since last May. The 2022 runner-up was aiming to reach his third ATP Tour final of the season (Delray Beach, Acapulco), but was unable to contain Alcaraz once he found his range.