Alexander Zverev admitted his level wasn’t great in the quarter-finals (Image: Tennis TV)
Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev will face off in a fourth straight Masters 1000 semi-final, this time in Monte Carlo. Sinner got the better of the German at the Paris Masters in November, and in Indian Wells and Miami last month, going on to win all three tournaments. Now, he’s hoping to do it again in Monaco, where he has never even reached the final.
Sinner booked his place in the last four with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime, while third seed Zverev edged out teenage sensation Joao Fonseca 7-5 6-7(3) 6-3. Both men are now through to their third semi-final at the Monte Carlo Masters. Sinner lost at this stage in 2023 and 2024, while Zverev has not made it this far here since 2022.
Although this is his best result at the Monte Carlo Country Club in four years, the world No. 3 has brutally admitted that he’s still far from his best and wasn’t too happy with his level against Fonseca. And that will give Sinner some extra confidence when they meet on Saturday.
“Level-wise, I’m not sure. I don’t think it was still a great match, to be honest, from both of us,” Zverev said after beating Fonseca in their first-ever meeting. “But as I said, this is the first week on clay for all of us. It’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to be the prettiest tennis.
“I won, I’m in the semi-finals, I’m super happy. But 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 is to show improvement, to find also my aggressive game a bit more, because I’m struggling a little bit more on clay than I was on hard courts with that. But overall, I’m in the semis, and I’m happy about that.”
Zverev had been on the cusp of an opening-round defeat when he trailed qualifier Cristian Garin 0-4 and 2-5 in the final set of their match on Wednesday. But he stormed back to win the last five games, avoiding an upset, and was just happy to avoid an early exit.
Jannik Sinner is through to his third Monte Carlo Masters semi-final (Image: Getty)
The No. 3 seed added: “It’s about rhythm a little bit, I feel like I’m still mistiming quite a few balls, but again, I’m in the semi-finals, I’m very happy about that. [I’d rather] much more mistime a few and be in the semis than play perfect and lose first round. Again, it’s about improving. I feel like it’s going to be hopefully a good clay-court season for me, but there still needs to be improvement from me.”
But Zverev won’t be able to mistime his shots against Sinner, who has not lost a match since February 19. Last month, he became the first man to complete the Sunshine Double – winning Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back – without dropping a set. That run included two wins over Zverev.
Sinner’s record run of 37 straight sets won at Masters 1000 level finally came to an end on Thursday when Tomas Machac took him to a decider. But the world No. 2 was back to his best against Auger-Aliassime a day later.
“It feels like a step forward today,” he said after winning his quarter-final match. “It was a very, very tough match. I knew that 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 good in this night’s sleep.”
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