Thursday afternoon at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters began with the top two seeds seemingly on a routine path. Carlos Alcaraz swiftly secured the opening set against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in just 20 minutes. Earlier, Jannik Sinner had demonstrated similar dominance, winning his first set against Tomas Machac with equal speed.
However, both matches soon took dramatic turns, evolving into far more engaging contests than initially anticipated. Alcaraz, the top seed and defending champion, ultimately had to dig deep, requiring all three sets to overcome Etcheverry and earn his spot in the last eight.
