Preview and Schedule Monte Carlo Masters Day Four: Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic face early threats in clay court return

The schedule for Day Four of the Monte Carlo Masters, to be played on Wednesday, April 9, will feature the final players making their debut in the draw in the Round of 32 — with Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic as the day’s main stars, each facing South American clay-court specialists capable of causing serious problems.

They won’t be the only headline matches, as Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Alex de Minaur, and Daniil Medvedev will also be in action, all aiming to reach the Round of 16.

On Court Rainier, four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz will take to the court as the highest seed still in the draw following Alexander Zverev’s early exit in the opening round. The Spaniard faces a tough opponent in Francisco Cerúndolo, a player who feels right at home on clay and is out for revenge after losing to Alcaraz a few weeks ago at Indian Wells.

The Argentine enjoyed a strong Golden Swing, reaching the final of the Argentina Open, and currently holds a 9–3 record on clay this year. He breezed past Fabio Fognini in his opening match with a 6-0, 6-3 win. Alcaraz, meanwhile, is seeking his first career victory at the Monte Carlo Masters, having skipped the 2023 and 2024 editions. His only previous appearance came in 2022, where he lost to Sebastian Korda.

Novak Djokovic’s first clay-court match of the season brings back tough memories: Alejandro Tabilo. Nearly a year ago, the Chilean stunned Djokovic at the Italian Open, handing him the fastest clay-court loss of his career with a 6-2, 6-3 result in just 1 hour and 8 minutes. It was a shocking upset that deepened a difficult spell for Djokovic in 2024.

This time, the Serbian arrives with much more confidence following a strong showing at the Miami Open, where he notched solid wins over high-calibre opponents, including Lorenzo Musetti and Grigor Dimitrov. Although he fell to Jakub Mensik in the final, his string of victories will have surely boosted his momentum. The 24-time Grand Slam champion doesn’t need much time to readjust to a new surface, and facing Tabilo again will no doubt provide extra motivation as he seeks revenge for that defeat in Rome.

One of the most intriguing matches of the evening, as it will be Rublev’s first appearance alongside his new coach, former World No. 1 Marat Safin. The Russian has already proven his strong form on clay, winning two Masters 1000 titles — Monte Carlo in 2023 and Madrid in 2024.

Rublev leads their head-to-head 2-1 and comes in as the favourite on a slower surface, although Monfils always has a trick up his sleeve and will have the support of the French crowd at the tournament. At 38, Monfils is the oldest player in the top 100 and one of only two players over 35 inside the top 50 — the other being Novak Djokovic at 37. Monfils opened with a three-set win over Fabian Marozsan and has fond memories in Monte Carlo, having reached the final in 2016 — one of his three Masters 1000 finals — where he fell in three sets to the tournament’s all-time great, Rafael Nadal, who lifted his ninth title that year.

Casper Ruud has struggled to find consistency at the start of the year. He reached the final of the Dallas Open in early February (losing to Denis Shapovalov), but has managed just a 3–2 record since. The start of the clay swing is usually good news for the Norwegian, although he faces added pressure due to significant points to defend — including being last year’s finalist and defending the Barcelona Open title next week.

He will face 35-year-old Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, a two-time clay-court titleholder who leads their head-to-head 3–1, including their most recent meeting at the 2024 Bastad Open. The former World No. 9 has the weapons to trouble Ruud and, true to the Spanish school, is well suited to clay. He proved it again by quickly dispatching the tricky Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-4 in his opener.