Preview and Schedule Monte Carlo Masters Day Three: Draper and Tsitsipas take the court, Zverev vs Berrettini in blockbuster clash

The schedule for Day Three of the Monte Carlo Masters (Tuesday, April 8, 2025) has been released, featuring the final first-round matches and the start of second-round action in the top half of the draw. The match of the day will see Matteo Berrettini take on Alexander Zverev in a high-profile battle between two big names.

Other stars also make their tournament debut, including defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune, Jack Draper, Arthur Fils, and Grigor Dimitrov, among others.

The first match of the day will feature 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who will face Chilean Nicolas Jarry. The Bulgarian has reached the Monte-Carlo semifinals twice (2018, 2022) and comes in with confidence after making the semifinals at the Miami Open. It will be a tough challenge against Jarry, a player who thrives on clay and reached the Rome Open final just a year ago. The head-to-head stands at 2-1 in favour of the Chilean, who won both encounters on clay, including the 2023 Geneva Open final.

World No. 12 Holger Rune has enjoyed strong results in Monte-Carlo, reaching the final in 2023 and the quarterfinals in 2024. After reaching the final at Indian Wells, he suffered an early exit at the Miami Open, which has allowed him ample time to prepare on clay. He will face Portuguese player Nuno Borges, who won a clay title at the 2024 Bastad Open, defeating none other than Rafael Nadal in the final.

The main match of the day will see top seed Alexander Zverev take on former World No. 6 Matteo Berrettini. The German is in urgent need of wins, having claimed just two victories in his last five matches, and facing the Italian this early in the tournament is certainly not ideal for Sascha. Zverev leads their head-to-head 4-2 (2-1 on clay), including the 2021 Madrid Open final.

Once that match concludes, three-time Monte-Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas will take to the court. The 2024 champion had an impressive run last year, defeating World No. 1 Jannik Sinner en route and overcoming Casper Ruud in the final. Tsitsipas will face Australian Jordan Thompson, who stunned Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round.

The day will begin with Italian Lorenzo Sonego, who caused a surprise in 2019 by reaching the quarterfinals as a qualifier, taking on Spain’s Pedro Martínez, a clay-court specialist with a title at the 2022 Chile Open and two additional finals on the surface. They have never faced each other before.

Next up will be former finalist Dušan Lajović, who this time had to battle through qualifying to earn his spot in the main draw—taking down Alexander Bublik and Laslo Djere along the way. The experienced 34-year-old will face an in-form Flavio Cobolli, who just claimed his maiden ATP title at the Bucharest Open last week by defeating Sebastián Báez, a player with six clay titles and four more finals to his name.

In the afternoon, World No. 13 Arthur Fils returns to the court after strong showings in Indian Wells and the Miami Open, where he reached the quarterfinals at both events. He’ll now have to prove he can transfer that level to the clay courts, opening his campaign against the always tricky Tallon Griekspoor, a finalist last week in Marrakech who recently secured wins over the likes of Alexander Zverev (No. 2) and Daniil Medvedev (No. 8).

Closing out the day will be World No. 6 Jack Draper, fresh off his Indian Wells title and looking to bounce back after a first-round exit in Miami. The 23-year-old Brit takes on American Marcos Giron. They’ve met twice before—both in 2024—at the Australian Open and the Stuttgart Open, with Draper winning both. This will be their first meeting on clay.