Carlos Alcaraz is through to his first Monte-Carlo Masters final – but he had to be “selfish” to get there. The world No. 3 had never won a match at the Country Club until this week, losing in his only appearance back in 2022. But he now finds himself one match away from the title.
Alcaraz booked his spot in the championship match with a hard-fought 7-6(2) 6-4 victory over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Saturday. The pair know each other well – they’re good friends, and Davidovich Fokina has even invited Alcaraz to his wedding. But the younger Spaniard said he had to “stay away from friendship” to finish the job.
Coming onto the semi-final, Alcaraz had only faced Davidovich Fokina once before, winning their 2023 Barcelona Open match. The second seed knew it would be a tough contest, as the world No. 42 is a former finalist in Monte-Carlo.
Ahead of their second meeting, Alcaraz put their bond to one side and joked that there were “no friends” when he stepped on the court. And he stayed true to his word, surviving a tough test to earn a place in the final.
The four-time Major winner struggled at times, blowing a 5-2 lead in the first set before he finally took it in a tiebreak. Alcaraz also needed six match points to seal victory.
Afterwards, he admitted there were positives and negatives when it came to playing a pal.
“Well, probably you can play a little bit calmer, because you know him,” he smiled.
“You know his level. You know the things he’s going to do in some way. So you can predict sometimes, you know, what shot he’s gonna make. So that makes a little bit easier playing against someone that I know pretty good.
“But in some other way, it’s difficult, because the friendship we have off the court is really good. Playing against a friend or, yeah, having that battle against a friend, you know, for a final in a Masters 1000 sometimes can be tricky.
“But I just really happy to stay away from that friendship and just being a little bit selfish and thinking about myself.
“Just really happy that I was able to do it, but yeah, there are good things and bad things about playing against a friend who I know pretty good.”
Alcaraz will now face either Alex de Minaur or Lorenzo Musetti as he bids to win his sixth Masters 1000 title.
It would be an incredible turnaround for the Spaniard, who has not played in the tournament since 2022, when he lost his opening match to Sebastian Korda.
Ahead of the championship match, Alcaraz added: “I’m gonna say I’m just happy to reach this level, but I think I could be better.
“Yeah, at the beginning of the week, the first tournament on clay, you have to get used to the conditions. The ball comes different. You know, the play on clay is different.”