Carlos Alcaraz is relishing the chance to face his greatest rival, Jannik Sinner, for the first time this year. The two best players in the world will come face to face in the Monte Carlo Masters final, with the world No. 1 ranking also on the line. Sinner was first to book his spot in a maiden final here earlier on Saturday, and immediately claimed he had “nothing to lose” if he faced reigning champion Alcaraz.
The Spanish superstar has now had his say on their blockbuster final. And instead of shying away from a tough test against Sinner, the top seed admitted it would be extra special with everything at stake.
“Sinner, Alcaraz for the Monte Carlo silverware, and the added spice of No. 1 on the line. It doesn’t get much better,” on-court interviewer Lee Goodall told the reigning champion. “Yeah I think so, I think it’s the dream spot for everyone, I’d say,” Alcaraz replied with a grin.
“I’m fighting for my second Monte Carlo title. I think he’s fighting for his first one. It’s going to be a really special one, the No. 1 is on the line, so I would say that makes tomorrow even more special.”
Alcaraz booked his spot in a second consecutive Monte Carlo Masters final with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Monegasque ace Valentin Vacherot on Saturday. The world No. 1 was made to work for it – he led by an early break in set two, but Vacherot broke back and led 4-3 on serve before Alcaraz reeled off three games in a row to get the win.
“For me, I’m just really happy to win this really difficult match against Valentin. I think he’s playing great tennis with a lot of confidence right now, playing in his hometown. It was really tough to get the win,” the Spaniard added.
“But, for me, I’m really excited about my first meeting against Jannik in 2026, first final [against him this year]. Let’s see how it’s going to be tomorrow, but I’m really excited about it.”
Sinner is also looking forward to “testing himself” against Alcaraz in the final. This is their first meeting of 2026, but Alcaraz leads their overall head-to-head 10-6, though Sinner won their last match in the final of the ATP Finals back in November.
“If it’s Carlos, it would be good for me before Paris to play at least once against him, you know, seeing where my level is on this surface and where we need to work on, which gives me hopefully good feedback. In any case, if I win or lose, it’s going to be good feedback and a good point where we need to improve,” the world No. 2 said after reaching his first final here.