Match Report
Sinner downs Auger-Aliassime in Monte-Carlo, matches ‘Big 3’ milestone
Italian will next face Zverev, who holds off Fonseca for SF spot
April 10, 2026
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Jannik Sinner defeats Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets in the Monte-Carlo quarter-finals on Friday.
By Andy West
Jannik Sinner added another ATP Masters 1000 milestone to his 2026 season on Friday afternoon by easing past Felix Auger-Aliassime for a semi-final spot at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings prevailed 6-3, 6-4 against Auger-Aliassime to set a last-four meeting with Alexander Zverev. The Italian, who extended his run of sets won at Masters 1000s to a record 37 before dropping a set to Tomas Machac in the fourth round in Monaco, has now won 20 consecutive matches at that level: The ‘Big Three’ of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are the only other players to hit that tally in series history (since 1990).
Big 3 brilliance 😁@janniksin posts his 20th successive Masters 1000 win to join Djokovic, Federer and Nadal as the only players to achieve the tally!@ROLEXMCMASTERS | #RolexMonteCarloMasters pic.twitter.com/GUOBlVLibo
— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 10, 2026
“I feel like it was a step forwards today,” said Sinner, when asked how he felt compared to his win against Machac. “It was a very tough match. I knew I had to get better in certain areas. The serve is not there yet, where I would love it [to be], but all things considered I’m very happy. Yesterday I was very tired. I recovered very well in this night’s sleep. Let’s see what’s coming tomorrow, but in any case, very happy to be back in the semis.”
With his quarter-final win, Sinner maintained his bid to reclaim World No. 1 from his great rival Carlos Alcaraz after Monte-Carlo. Although Alcaraz is also into the semi-finals after he defeated Alexander Bublik on Court Rainier III, the Italian can still guarantee his return to top spot by lifting the trophy on Sunday in Monaco.
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Sinner claimed the only break of each set to complete a 92-minute triumph against Auger-Aliassime on Court Rainier III, where the Italian delivered a typically relentless display of baseline hitting. Now into his third Monte-Carlo semi-final, the 24-year-old will take on third seed Zverev on Saturday for a spot in the championship match after the German earlier overcame #NextGenATP Joao Fonseca 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3.
One moment perhaps indicative of the sort of form Sinner is in was the overhead he produced to claim his crucial break for 5-3 in the second set. The 26-time tour-level titlist dealt superbly with a high ball from Auger-Aliassime that ball-tracking technology later showed was dropping marginally long.
“I feel like when you start with the intention to hit, I don’t doubt,” said Sinner. “I’d rather miss by going for it. It is a shot we try to improve. We are working on it a lot, even though from the outside it always seems like an easier shot, the smash. It’s definitely not. Today with the weather and with the clouds, I feel a bit more confident to hit the serve. When it’s blue skies, for example, I am someone that struggles a bit more, but I’m happy that I made it.”
Despite his own reservations about his serving performance, Sinner still won 79 per cent (26/33) of points behind his first delivery against sixth seed Auger-Aliassime, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He has now won his past five matches with the Canadian and leads 5-2 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
Zverev earlier rode out a mid-match surge from 19-year-old Fonseca in the pair’s maiden tour-level clash. The 28-year-old German delivered a steely third-set display to reach his third consecutive Masters 1000 semi-final after also reaching that stage in both Indian Wells and Miami last month.
“It’s the first week on clay for all of us so it’s not going to be easy,” said Zverev after battling to his two-hour, 41-minute victory. “It’s not going to be the prettiest tennis. I won and I’m in the semi-finals, and I’m super happy with that. I feel like the best set of tennis was the third set for me, so that shows improvement.
“That’s the most important thing this week, to show improvement and to finesse my aggressive game, because I’m struggling a little bit more on clay than I was on hard courts with that. Overall, I’m in the semis and I’m happy about it.”