Carlos Alcaraz reaches Monte Carlo final for first time

MONTE CARLO – Carlos Alcaraz stormed into his first Masters final in 13 months when he beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 on April 12, but not before his Spanish compatriot saved five match points in a gruelling encounter.

Second seed Alcaraz found it difficult to break Davidovich Fokina, succeeding only three times in 19 attempts, and he also wasted three set points in an opening set that lasted over an hour.

Davidovich Fokina was imperious in his defensive game but Alcaraz lifted his service in the second set, in which he did not face a single break point, and reached his first Masters final since he won at Indian Wells in 2024.

He will face Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the April 13 final after the world No. 16 beat Australia’s 10th-ranked Alex de Minaur 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) in the other semi-final.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to win a title on clay and I can’t wait to try my luck again here,” said Alcaraz, who was beaten in the Olympic final by Novak Djokovic in Paris last August.

“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.”

The world No. 3 sealed the win with a sizzling forehand winner down the line to move into his first final in Monte Carlo.

If the 21-year-old wins his first Monte Carlo crown, and a sixth Masters title, he will take over the world No. 2 spot from Alexander Zverev.

Davidovich Fokina and Alcaraz shared a warm embrace at the net and a laugh, before Alcaraz praised his 42nd-ranked compatriot.

“I think I played really good tennis from the beginning until the last point,” Alcaraz said.

“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... The most important thing is that I’m feeling great physically.”

In Brisbane, Australia swept past Colombia to end their bid to make the Billie Jean King Cup Finals on April 12, with Kazakhstan having already qualified from their group.

Teenager Maya Joint crushed Yuliana Monroy 6-1, 6-0 before Kimberly Birrell sealed the tie with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Yuliana Lizarazo. Victory in the doubles concluded a 3-0 win.

“It’s always nice to get wins,” said Australia team captain Samantha Stosur. “Everyone went out wanting to finish the week on a high. They should all be very proud of what they did.”

The Elena Rybakina-led Kazakhstan had already beaten Australia and Colombia to make the eight-team finals in Shenzhen in September, alongside hosts China and defending champions Italy.

While Australia and Colombia were consigned to the play-offs in November to determine who will be in the 2026 qualifiers, their April 12 match had ramifications.

The winners received extra ranking points, which will impact seeding order in the play-offs.

In Tokyo, Japan made a winning start in their bid to reach the finals, crushing Romania 3-0 with singles wins for Ena Shibahara and Moyuka Uchijima over Miriam Bulgaru and Anca Todoni respectively.

Japan face Canada on April 13, with the winners progressing to the Shenzhen showpiece.

The current qualifiers feature six groups of three nations as the finals transition from a 12-team tournament to an eight-team set-up. REUTERS, AFP