Preview Monte-Carlo Masters Semi-final | Alcaraz looks to continue title defence against home hero Vacherot as Sinner and Zverev meet again

The third Masters 1000 tournament of the season has not disappointed. The Monte-Carlo Masters semi-finals are set to take place in one of the most prestigious events on the ATP calendar.

The top three in the world continue to impress on the big stage. Reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz will not only look to defend his title, but the world number one ranking from a charging Jannik Sinner. A maiden final showdown between the two would be a spectacle in the Principality. Alexander Zverev and Monegasque Valentin Vacherot stand in their way, with the Monegasque looking to continue his hugely impressive week on home soil.

Deja vu at Masters 1000 level. For the third tournament in a row, Zverev and Sinner will face off in the semi-final. The defeats at Indian Wells and the Miami Open are just the latest miserable results the German has picked up against Sinner.

It is an opponent that he has not been able to tame in recent times, but another opportunity has cropped up, and he will be determined to get it right this time. So far, he has impressed on court. He was very close to reaching the Australian Open final, serving it out before Alcaraz went on a rampage. He then continued to reach big semi-finals, but was unable to make it past the big two in the world.

It has not been a smooth path to a third semi-final in Monaco. It is one of just two Masters 1000 tournaments he has failed to reach the final, along with Indian Wells. He will be hoping to reverse that with an eighth Masters 1000 title possibly on the horizon. However, his recent record in semi-finals has been dreadful. He has reached this stage in five of the prior six tournaments at this level, losing them all.

He got a bye through to the second round thanks to his seeding and was engulfed in a huge battle against Cristian Garin. He was 5-2 down in the final set before making an incredible comeback, winning five games on the spin to win a thriller 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. It was much more straightforward against Zizou Bergs, winning 6-2, 7-5 before being pushed by Joao Fonseca in the quarterfinal. The Brazilian showed his class but was unable to halt a determined Zverev who just edged the 19-year-old 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3.

One win will book his spot in the final, but Sinner has been a thorn in his side for a while. Seven contests on the spin have gone the way of the Italian.

After not being able to compete in the tournament last year thanks to a doping suspension, Sinner is back with a vengeance. He has made it to a third semi-final, but will not be satisfied with this result. He is looking to win four Masters 1000 titles in a row. In that period, he has dropped just one set in a hugely remarkable run.

His title runs at Indian Wells and the Miami Open sent out an ominous statement to his rivals that he is back to his best. After a slightly sluggish start to 2026 by his standards, he is back to his best and looking unbeatable on his day.

His first match in the competition since 2024 saw him win nine of the last 10 games in a 6-3, 6-0 routing over Ugo Humbert. The four-time Grand Slam champion was less convincing in his next match against Tomas Machac. His 37-set streak at Masters 1000 level came crashing down after the Czech clinched a late tiebreak but was not able to topple Sinner off his perch as the 24-year-old came out on top 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-3. A much more routine performance against the world number seven Felix Auger-Aliassime saw a single break in each set being enough to get the better of the Canadian, winning 6-3, 6-4 to confirm his place as one of the four remaining tennis players in this tournament.

The world number one is still in the hands of Alcaraz, but the question is how much longer. The Spaniard suffered a disappointing Sunshine swing which saw a lot of points left on the table, especially after a hugely disappointing Miami Open where Sebastian Korda dumped him out in the third round.

Now back on clay, he is looking supreme. He has only competed at this tournament twice before, departing in the second round back in 2022 before winning the thing last year, dropping just one game after falling a set down to Lorenzo Musetti. A second title on the spin will be a hugely impressive result, and possibly a statement win if he completes it against his rival Sinner.

He will know before his match starts if he is facing Sinner. However, the seven-time Grand Slam champion has to make that stage first. He commenced the event with a standout 6-1, 6-3 win against Sebastian Baez. Another Argentine met him in the last-16, this time in the form of Tomas Martin Etcheverry. After showing his best level in the first set, a huge 23 unforced errors in the second set left the door ajar for Etcheverry to get back into the match. In the end, Alcaraz proved to be too good as he snuck away with a precious 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory. He then got back to his best after winning 10 games on the spin to take down Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-0.

That was the pair's first meeting, surprisingly enough. Alcaraz will also be going into the unknown in his last-four contest, but this time he will be up against the crowd as well with a fairytale story continuing in Monaco.

This time last year, Valentin Vacherot was a relatively unknown tennis player. lurking outside the top 200 in the world. He picked up his first-ever Masters 1000 win in his home tournament last year, bowing out at the second round stage. However, since winning the Shanghai Masters, his tennis career has gone from strength to strength.

He has continued to rise in the rankings, albeit while defending virtually nothing. He is making the most of it with a marvellous run to the semi-finals in his home event, showing his strengths on clay while becoming the first Monegasque to reach this stage at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

The 27-year-old has gone from strength to strength in this tournament. He came back from a set deficit to convincingly defeat Juan Manuel Cerundolo 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 before making a huge impression by dumping out last year's finalist Musetti 7-6(6), 7-5. His incredible run would prolong after again coming from a set down to get the better of Hubert Hurkacz 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4. His quarterfinal tie would pitch him against Alex de Minaur, but despite the calibre of his opponent, Vacherot again grinded out a hugely impressive 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 triumph to set him up with a dream tie against the world number one in the semi-finals of his home event.