Jannik Sinner reigns at record-breaking Monte‑Carlo Masters
· The South African
Before Sunday’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters final, the last time that tennis’s biggest two rivals had met on clay was a year ago.
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That was, the 2025 Roland Garros final, when world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz and world No 2 Jannik Sinner fought neck and neck in a long, drawn-out epic battle lasting a whopping five hours and 29 minutes, eventually clinched by Alcaraz.
Winning streak
The Spaniard also walked on court Rainier III on Sunday as the reigning Monte-Carlo champion, as well as leading their head-to-head rivalry (10-6, and more impressively, 4-1 on clay).
Having been on a formidable 17-match winning streak on clay, one could safely say that this was Alcaraz’s chosen surface.
But on Sunday, he struggled with the elements, as the unpredictability of the blustery wind affected his serve and shot selection, allowing his biggest rival, Sinner, to seal a straight-sets victory (7-6, 6-3), in two hours and 15 minutes.
In doing so, the Italian will reclaim the No 1 ranking from the Spaniard, Alcaraz, who acknowledged Sinner’s increasing dominance on clay, at his post-match press conference.
“We have seen Jannik’s level on clay, and I think he’s been improving a lot year by year. I think he’s reaching a level on clay that is going to be really dangerous for everybody”.
Took control
The Italian 24-year-old took control of the match from the baseline.
The first set was a showcase of backhands, as tennis’s two biggest rivals fought backhand to backhand, which Sinner capitalised on, thanks to a baseline offense game.
The turning point in the match came in the first set tie-break, when Sinner’s first serve accuracy didn’t abandon him, even in the wind.
“I was serving well in the important moments in the first set. You know, in the tiebreak, I was very very accurate”.
The first set was tightly contested, culminating in a tie-break.
But the Spaniard faced his real test at set-point, when, clearly struggling with the wind conditions, he double faulted, thereafter giving his opponent an opportunity to capitalise.
Unforced errors took over
The second set started off well for the defending champion, who was leading until unforced errors took over.
Sinner was too strong and too consistent, powering through to clinch his first ever Masters 1000 on clay.
It has been a particularly impressive a milestone for Sinner, given the short transition from the US hard courts, having won the Miami Masters just two weeks prior, to conquering the first Masters of the year on clay.
After lifting the Miami trophy, Sinner took only two days off before launching into an intense clay‑court training block.
Sinner’s coach Simone Vagnozzi revealed to press that preparation centred on refining Sinner’s sliding, a key adjustment when moving from hard courts to clay.
The team also prioritised increased spin, varied serve trajectories, and the use of angles and drop shots.
Sinner continues to make history.
Joined elite club
In adding the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters to his titles together with Indian Wells and Miami, he becomes the first man since Novak Djokovic in 2015, to win the season’s first 3 Masters 1000 events.
As the 2026 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters comes to an end, the tournament has been an overwhelming success having itself made history.
Tournament Director, David Massey told press on the final day that for the first time in its history, there had been record attendance figures, with all tickets having sold out in advance, from the first day of qualifying to the final.
In previous years, tickets had been available to buy online up until the first Saturday, but this year had been exceptional.
“For the first time in the history of our tournament, we were sold out, including the first day of qualifying, which is a delight for this event”.
Around 155 000 seats had been sold over the nine days of the tournament, which headlined the world No 1, 2 and 3 players among others, notably a fairytale run for local hero Valentin Vacherot, whose ranking catapulted to world No 23, from being world No 256 just a year ago.
Fitting finale
His deep run up to the semi-finals was a proud moment for Monegasques, having been the first Monegasque in the Open Era to reach both the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the tournament, and on his local home court, in front of Albert II, Prince of Monaco.
It was a fitting finale for the tournament to see the world No 1 and world No 2 contest the championship.
Once again, Alcaraz and Sinner underlined their dominance, confirming a duopoly that, for now, appears beyond challenge.
Whether that balance is poised to shift remains to be seen – the season has only just begun.
Amisha Savani is reporting exclusively for The South African from the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.