Sinner beats Alcaraz

Jannik Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(5), 6-3 on April 12 to win his first Monte Carlo Masters title and move back to world No. 1. (atptour.com) The final was the first Sinner-Alcaraz meeting of 2026, and it ended with Sinner’s eighth ATP Masters 1000 title and first at that level on clay. ATP said he handled windy conditions at the Monte-Carlo Country Club and closed the match in straight sets. (atptour.com) Monte Carlo is the first clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event of the men’s season, and the 2026 tournament ran from April 5 through April 12 in Monaco. Alcaraz arrived as defending champion and top seed, while Sinner came in at No. 2 with the ranking lead in play. (atptour.com) The result flipped the top of the rankings again. In the official ATP list published April 13, Sinner rose to No. 1 with 13,350 points and Alcaraz dropped to No. 2 with 13,240. (atptour.com; atptour.com) ATP said Sinner became just the second man after Novak Djokovic in 2015 to win the first three ATP Masters 1000 events of a season. That run gives him early control of the spring schedule that leads into the French Open on clay in Paris next month. (atptour.com; atptour.com) Sinner’s path in Monte Carlo ran through Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals, Alexander Zverev in the semifinals, and Alcaraz in the final. Alcaraz reached the championship match by beating Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals and Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot in the semifinals. (tennisuptodate.com; montecarlotennismasters.com) The tournament also carried a large payday. ATP said the singles champion earned €974,370 and the runner-up earned €532,120 from a total prize pool of €6,309,095. (atptour.com; montecarlotennismasters.com) For Alcaraz, the loss ended his Monte Carlo title defense after one week; for Sinner, it opened the clay season with the trophy he had not yet won. The same rivalry now heads to the rest of the European clay swing with Sinner back on top of the rankings. (atptour.com; atptour.com)