Spain's Alcaraz wins first Monte Carlo Tennis Masters tournament

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz won his first Monte Carlo Masters title on Sunday with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over Italian opponent Lorenzo Musetti.

The win marked a sixth Masters title for the 21-year-old Spaniard, who is also a four-time Grand Slam winner, and his most prestigious title since winning the grass court Grand Slam tournament Wimbledon last year.

Alcaraz, who many see as the heir apparent to former World number one Rafael Nadal, will now move up a place in the rankings and displace Alexander Zverev at No 2.

He was forced to come from behind to beat the Italian who had already taken down two Top 10 players, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alex de Minaur, on his way to his first Masters 1000 final, an incredible milestone for his career.

"I'm just really happy to have won Monte Carlo for the first time," said Alcaraz, who lost in his first match on his only previous appearance at the tournament in 2022.

"It's been a really difficult week with a lot of difficult situations," he said in his post-match victory speech.

A level of consolation for Musetti despite the loss is that he will rise to Numbee 11 in the world rankings and the promise of more to come on the clay as the season builds towards the French Open at Roland Garros next month.

"It was probably one of my best tournaments so far. I'm disappointed I couldn’t finish the match in the best way, for the crowd. You deserve it, so I will keep going and try and come back for revenge," he said.

With the onset of the Clay Court season already underway, attention will eventually shift to the much coveted French Open tournament that takes place from Sunday 25 May 2025 to Sunday 8 June 2025.