Preview and Schedule Monte-Carlo Masters Final: Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti fight for the crown

The schedule for Day Eight at the Monte-Carlo Masters has been revealed. The semifinals will be played this Sunday, 12 April 2025, with Carlos Alcaraz as the big favourite for the title against Italian Lorenzo Musetti. However, Musetti has already shocked the Spaniard before—one of the few defeats Alcaraz has suffered in finals, and precisely on clay.

Alcaraz has had a solid run through the tournament, comfortably defeating Davidovich Fokina in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, the world No. 16 has already scored a couple of top-10 wins and is looking to break into a career-high ranking—and potentially claim the most important title of his career so far.

Carlos Alcaraz has had a successful path in Monte-Carlo, in just his second appearance at the tournament. In 2022, he lost in the opener to Sebastian Korda, and then missed the next two editions due to injury. This year, he arrived with confidence and proved why he was the best player during last year’s clay season.

He began with a win over Francisco Cerúndolo (3-6, 6-0, 6-1), followed by a dominant display against Daniel Altmaier (6-3, 6-1). In the quarter-finals, he edged past 12th seed Arthur Fils from a precarious position—serving at 4-6, 5-5 [0-40] in the second set—but saved three break points and came back to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. In the semi-finals, he beat surprise contender Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6, 6-4.

Alcaraz reaches his second final of the season and is chasing his first Masters 1000 title of the year. So far, he has an exceptional record in Masters 1000 finals, with five titles from six appearances, his only loss coming in the 2023 Cincinnati Open final against Novak Djokovic. The 4-time Grand Slam champion is aiming for his first Monte-Carlo title and the 18th title of his career.

Few had Musetti pegged as a finalist, despite coming in as the 13th seed. The Italian has already proven his clay-court credentials, winning bronze at the Olympic Games and claiming an ATP 500 title in Hamburg 2022, beating Alcaraz in the final.

This week, he defeated Bu Yunchaokete (4-6, 7-5, 6-3), Jiri Lehecka (1-6, 7-5, 6-2), Matteo Berrettini (6-3, 6-3), defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas (1-6, 6-3, 6-4), and Alex de Minaur (1-6, 6-4, 7-6). He now has 10 top-10 victories, four of them in Monte-Carlo, and it’s the first time he’s beaten top-10 players in back-to-back matches.

Musetti has shown some shaky starts, losing the first set in four of his five wins. Against Alcaraz, he’ll need to start strong—coming back from a set down in a final against someone like Alcaraz will be extremely difficult.

The Spaniard holds an outstanding finals record, now at 17-5. His first-ever final loss came precisely against Musetti at the 2022 Hamburg Open, where the Italian won 6-4, 7-6(8), 6-4 to claim his maiden ATP title.

Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 3-1, winning their last three meetings. On paper, he’s the clear favourite to claim his second title of the season—after the Rotterdam Open. A victory would also move him up to world No. 2, overtaking Alexander Zverev, and closing the gap—at least slightly—on Jannik Sinner.