Jannik Sinner will face
Stefanos Tsitsipas for a spot in the
Monte-Carlo Masters final. The Italian prevailed in a high-level battle against
Holger Rune 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3, while the Greek cruised past
Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
So far, Tsitsipas and Sinner have met 8 times with Tsitsipas holding a 5-3 advantage, 2-1 when considering clay matches. However, their last two encounters were victories for Sinner at the 2023 Rotterdam Open and then at the ATP Finals.
The young 22-year-old Italian will be the heavy favorite, having had spectacular results lately. He has improved his 2024 record to 25-1 (46-3 since the US Open) and reached the semifinals of a tournament for the fifth consecutive time, also successfully defending the points by securing back-to-back semifinals in Monte-Carlo.
On his way to the semifinals, he easily defeated
Sebastian Korda (6-1, 6-2) and
Jan-Lennard Struff (6-4, 6-2). However, in the quarterfinals, Rune put him in trouble, showing that there are still ways to challenge Sinner.
Sinner struggled to defeat Holger Rune
On the other hand, Tsitsipas will aim to cause an upset in Monte-Carlo, a tournament he has already won in 2021 and 2022. The 25-year-old is demonstrating good form on clay and is in a Masters 1000 semifinal for the 16th time. Despite a shaky start to the year, Tsitsipas has already reached his 15th win in 2024.
In his path at the Monte Carlo Country Club, Tsitsipas overcame Laslo Dejer (6-3, 3-2, ret.), Tomas Mastin Etcheverry (6-1, 6-0),
Alexander Zverev (7-5, 7-6), and Khachanov.
The Greek has the possibility to return to the top 10 after 7 weeks in case of reaching the final, while Sinner is guaranteed to finish the tournament as world No. 2, although each win brings him closer to interrupting Novak Djokovic's dominance.