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Carlos Alcaraz has dismissed outside expectations as ‘freak talk’ as he looks to put a ‘difficult’ month behind him after triumphing at the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters.

The Spaniard battled from a set down to beat Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 and lifted his first trophy since his 2024 Wimbledon victory.

Alcaraz looked far more comfortable on the clay courts of Monaco than over the last few months, where he had most recently lost to David Goffin in the second round of the Miami Open.

“I don’t feel that way,” stated Alcaraz, when asked if his win had ‘proved a point.’

“I always say that, let’s say freak talk, when you’re not winning or people have high expectations of you when you don’t win tournaments or matches they probably talk a lot.

“I just realised that I don’t have to think about all they are talking about and just focus on myself. So I’m not going to say I just proved them wrong.

“I’m just really happy to be able to refocus on the important things and just be focused on myself and the part that I have to follow with my team. Just playing for myself. So I’m just really happy that I was able to do it.”

He continued by stating: “It’s been a tough month for me. On and off the court. I don’t want to say in public, but I was struggling stepping on the court. It’s been difficult to find a way to not think about everything”.

Whilst the Spaniard had only played one match at the Monte Carlo event prior to this season’s edition, he has had plenty of history with his next two tournaments.

In Barcelona, Alcaraz is a two-time champion (2022 and 2023) – withdrawing from the event in 2024 due to forearm issues.

Additionally, at the Madrid Open, he is also a two-time champion (2022 and 2023). It was in the Spanish capital where he truly announced himself to the tennis world at large, being the first – and only – player to beat Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the same clay-court event.

“I’m pretty sure that it’s going to be difficult months ahead because a lot of people have high expectations of me having a really good clay season,” Alcaraz admitted.

“Probably they want me to win almost every tournament, so it’s going to be difficult to deal with it, I guess.

“But one thing that I learned the last few months is I have to think about myself. I have to think about myself. I have to just think about my people, my team, my family, my friends, my close friends.

“No matter what happens on the court, if I win, if I lose, I just have to leave the court happy.

“I’m proud about everything I have done. So that’s something that I learned, and I think I did it this week and it paid off.”

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The former world No 1 was also quizzed as to if he will approach the upcoming tournaments any differently, given that he has now won his first title of 2025.

“I will try to just keep going the same way that I approach this tournament (in Monte Carlo) and not think about the people talking about expectation.”

Alcaraz is also the first Spaniard to lift the singles title in Monaco since Nadal in 2018, which marked the legend’s 11th triumph.

“I hope to win the title here more than once. Thinking about 11 is impossible, honestly,” said the four-time Grand Slam champion.

“I’ve spoken several times with my team about what Rafa achieved on clay. It’s one of the most complicated things in sport in general, not just tennis.

“Winning the same tournament 11 times, 14 Roland Garros, the best tournaments in the world, is impossible to repeat. We’ll see how many I can get. If I stick with just one, I’ll be happy. I’ll be 23 in no time, so I hope to play this tournament for 10 or 15 more years, we’ll see if I can add some more. Now I just want to enjoy this moment.”

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Lorenzo Musetti was on the verge of defeat against Yunchaokete Bu in the first round of the 2025 Monte Carlo, but – ultimately – reached the showpiece match.

The Italian defeated the likes of Alex de Minaur, Matteo Berrettini, and three-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas to make the biggest match of his life.

However, once there, and faced with Carlos Alcaraz, the former Grand Slam semi-finalist was defeated 3-6, 6-1, 6-0.

Musetti looked the far more comfortable player on the court in the first set, but fatigue and discomfort from the tough week eventually caught up to him – taking a medical timeout in the deciding set.

“We don’t know the specific nature of the injury yet, but it’s clear that we’re going to do some tests in the coming days,” admitted Musetti.

“As you have seen, I couldn’t finish the match as I wanted, but in a final,  I didn’t want to retire. It was the best way to finish, even if I wasn’t able to play much more. It is what it is.

“The toughness of the whole week, of the long matches I played, was what took its toll on me today.

“In this final, I was very clear about what I had to do. Especially after the first set, which I played probably my best tennis, and of course I was feeling the ball really well today. I had a clear mind what I had to do.

“But physically I was struggling, the physical problems and the fatigue and all the, let’s say, stress accumulated in the past days, past matches, they were there. So unfortunately I couldn’t finish the match. I mean, I couldn’t, let’s say, fight till the end.”

Despite the tough end to an impressive tournament performance, the Italian says that he hopes to take away optimistic sensations heading into the rest of the European clay-court season.

“I take a lot of positive stuff. You know, I have reached some of my goals,” reflected Musetti.

“After this, of course, we are already focused on other goals, on trying to be ambitious and motivate ourselves even more, because we have not yet reached the top-10.

“Right now, that’s probably the main goal of the season: we’re close enough to keep fighting and keep dreaming. As I said on court, I don’t want to make any excuses today. Carlos probably deserved to win, but it was a shame that I couldn’t show my best tennis until the last point.

“Now I’ll take a week off, I won’t go to Barcelona, and I’ll play in Madrid. I hope to be there 100%.”

After his Monte Carlo run, the soon-to-be world No 11 now possesses a 64-37 win/loss record on clay courts – with his biggest title arriving on the surface (Hamburg 2022).

“Yes, clay is probably my favorite surface,” stated the runner-up.

“Let’s say it’s my natural habitat. This week gave me the confidence to be more ambitious even in bigger tournaments like this one or, for example, in French Open. That’s a massive point of the season, for me really important, which I don’t have so many points to defend.

“So hopefully I can be prepared, you know, to do some great things there. I think I have the level to be at the top on clay.”

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Whilst Musetti will undoubtedly be disappointed in how the final ended, he was quick to further credit Alcaraz for his performance and overall demeanour.

“Carlos is already a legend of this sport, despite being younger than me,” commented the 23-year-old.

“He’s a record-breaking guy, and on the court you feel like he has a kind of aura, so to speak. Today, honestly, I think I played a fantastic first set, which made him change something in his tennis.

“If I had been 100% physically, I could have kept more energy, which is what you need to beat someone like Carlos. I hope to get revenge soon.”

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Lorenzo Musetti’s coach Simone Tartarini has given specific details as to the physical issue that hindered the Italian’s efforts to win the 2025 Monte Carlo final against Carlos Alcaraz.

Musetti looked in fine form in the first set, claiming it 6-3 against an impatient Spaniard.

However, in the second set – especially with Alcaraz’s form on the rise – the 2024 Wimbledon semi-finalist’s movement seemed somewhat hindered, losing it 6-1.

By the third set, the issues were far more pronounced, and Alcaraz capped off the final with a 6-0 in the third victory.

Musetti’s coach Simone Tartarini, who has been working in that role since the Italian was eight, revealed the details of the discomfort to Ubitennis.

“This morning, during the warm-up, Lorenzo had a problem with his quadriceps,” explained Tartarini.

“We took all the necessary precautions, but, during the match, he felt more and more pain.

“He was already in pain after the first set, then – after playing on top of it at a certain point – he was in a lot of pain. But obviously, he didn’t want to retire since it was a final: he stayed on the court for the sake of it because the final must be played.”

Whilst it was clear that the Italian was in discomfort in the second half of the match, Musetti seemed determined to finish the match – opposing the advice given to him by his team.

“Halfway through the second set I told him to retire, he was in a lot of pain,” stated the future world No 11’s coach.

“I was thinking about the future, there was a risk of getting hurt, but he said he wanted to finish the match. I think the crowd understood, but he wanted to finish.

“We will do the tests, it could be a small strain. Now we will do all the necessary medical things because in the heat of the moment you can’t even do ultrasounds. Maybe a little edema, so a little bit of a stop is definitely needed.”

In his interview after the match, Musetti reiterated a similar sentiment of duty to the final.

“I’m really disappointed that I could not finish the match in the best way, for the crowd, for all of the support I received this week, but you deserve it,” the Italian said.

“I will try to come back for the revenge.”

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After his victory, Alcaraz admitted to noticing Musetti’s leg discomfort.

“It is not the way I would have wanted to win a match,” the newly-crowned Monte Carlo champion admitted during his on-court interview.

“Thinking about Lorenzo, he has been through a tough week, played long matches. I feel sorry for him. It is one of his best results, ending up like this is not easy. Hopefully it is nothing serious and he will be 100% soon.”

Alcaraz went on to state: “I am really happy to win Monte-Carlo for the first time. It has been a really difficult week with a lot of difficult situations. I am proud with how I dealt with everything. It has been a difficult month for me, so coming here and seeing the hard work pay off makes me happy.”

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Carlos Alcaraz has sealed a significant jump in the ATP Rankings after rallying from a set down to beat Lorenzo Musetti in the Monte Carlo Masters final.

In an intriguing contest, second seed Alcaraz claimed his sixth Masters 1000 title and first Monte Carlo title with a rallying 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 triumph over a tiring and hampered Musetti on Sunday.

It is Alcaraz’s second title of 2025, following his victory at the Rotterdam Open back in February, and is his first Masters 1000 title since winning in Indian Wells back in March 2024.

“This is not the way that I would have wanted to win a match,” reflected Alcaraz.

“Thinking about Lorenzo, I think he’s had a really tough week, really long and intense matches, so I just feel really sorry for him to end [like this].

“One of the best results he has done and ending like this, it’s not easy, so I just wanted to say hopefully it’s nothing serious and hopefully he’s going to be 100% really soon.

“I’m just really happy to have won Monte Carlo for the first time. It’s been a really difficult week with a lot of difficult situations that I’m really proud of myself, how I dealt with everything.

“It’s been a really difficult month for me outside and on the court, so coming here and seeing how the hard work paid off, I’m really happy.”

Victory for Alcaraz has significant rankings implications right at the very top of the sport, with the Spaniard now set to overtake Alexander Zverev as the world No 2.

The 21-year-old will move to 7,720 ranking points on Monday, with Zverev – who was beaten in round two – dropping to 7,595 points.

Alcaraz has also closed the gap to world No 1 Jannik Sinner, earning a full 1,000 ranking points in Monte Carlo after missing the event 12 months ago.

Sinner will drop 400 semi-final points after missing Monte Carlo due to his ongoing suspension, though the Italian will still hold 9,930 points on Monday – a cushion of 2,210 points over Alcaraz.

All eyes will now be on whether Alcaraz can close the gap towards Sinner, and hold off Zverev as the world No 2.

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Both Alcaraz and Zverev are in action on home soil this coming week, with the Spaniard competing at the ATP 500 Barcelona Open, and German Zverev competing at the ATP 500 Munich Open.

Two-time Barcelona champion Alcaraz has no points to defend after missing the event in 2024, while Zverev has 50 quarter-finalist points to defend in Munich.

Both men will also be in action at the Masters 1000 event in Madrid before Sinner returns next month.

Despite defeat, there is also good news for Musetti from an ATP Rankings perspective.

A run to a first Masters 1000 final will see the Italian dramatically eclipse his previous career-high of world No 15, with the 23-year-old set to be ranked 11th come Monday.

Read Next: ATP Rankings Winners & Losers Monte Carlo: Alcaraz close to No 2, Djokovic No 5, Tsitsipas -8, Musetti rises

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Emma Raducanu has reportedly been dropped by leading sponsor Vodafone after “demanding too much money”, reports have claimed.

The Mail on Sunday has reported that the 22-year-old, who shot to fame following her stunning US Open triumph back in 2021, will not see her deal with the phone company renewed.

The report states that sources close to Vodafone, who also sponsor the likes of Jack Draper, decided to end the partnership with Raducanu due to her financial demands.

Raducanu was initially announced as a Vodafone ambassador back in December 2021, one of countless sponsorship opportunities that flew her way in the aftermath of her US Open victory.

However, her partnership with Vodafone was thought to have been her most lucrative partnership, with the Brit reportedly raking in £3 million a year thanks to the partnership.

The MoS report claims that this placed her Vodafone partnership ahead of other high-profile deals with the likes of Dior and Tiffany & Co, which allegedly earn Raducanu £2m.

The loss of the Vodafone partnership could come as a significant blow for the 22-year-old, whose struggles since her epic triumph in Flushing Meadows have been well-documented.

Raducanu has famously not won a WTA title since that victory and has struggled repeatedly with injury issues, though she did rise back inside the top 60 in 2024.

A recent run to the quarter-final of the Miami Open saw her reach the last eight of a WTA 1000-level event for the first time and return to the top 50, with Raducanu currently ranked 47th in the world.

Despite her struggles on court, she has remained, up until now, one of the most marketable athletes off it, being named as the seventh highest-paid female athlete of 2024.

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The majority of the $14m reportedly earned by Raducanu in 2024 came from sponsorship, and only one non-tennis player – skiing star Eileen Gu – earned more than her.

However, the reported loss of the Vodafone partnership could suggest that her star power may be on the wane – and that her marketability is being affected by inconsistency within her career.

Last year, it had been reported that Raducanu’s longstanding deal with Porsche had ended, though this was later denied by the car manufacturer.

World No 47 Raducanu has not played since her run to the Miami Open quarter-final, which was ended by a three-set defeat to eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula.

The Brit has since gone on to pull out of the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers and the Rouen Open, and is currently expected to return at the Madrid Open.

Read Next: WTA Madrid Open 2025 Entry List: Will Raducanu and Eala play? Sabalenka, Swiatek top seeds

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Carlos Alcaraz has powered to within one win of a return to the world No 2 ranking after reaching his first final at the Monte Carlo Masters, with his post-match comments confirming he has been feeling a little extra pressure in recent weeks.

The 21-year-old Spaniard beat compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(2), 6-4 victor to secure his first appearance on finals Sunday at the Monte Carlo Country Club, where he will look to ease past Alexander Zverev to take the No 2 ranking.

Alcaraz allowed three set points to slip through his fingers in a long first set that lasted just over an hour and he also struggled to get over the winning line, as he needed six match points to reach his 23rd tour-level final.

That number of finals is remarkable for a player of his tender years and he was in an upbeat mood as he spoke to the fans in Monte Carlo and toasted his first appearance in a Masters 1000 final since Indian Wells in March 2023.

“It’s been a long time,” said Alcaraz. “I just had to be patient and believe that this moment was going to come again. Sometimes the people are not patient, they want me to make the final in every tournament. I’m really happy to give them the chance to watch one of my finals again.

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“I think I played really good tennis from the beginning until the last point.

“I tried to take the chances he gave me in the match. He saved a lot of break points and match points, but I’m really happy to [have] thought about myself. The most important thing is that I’m feeling great physically.”

Alcaraz also made some interesting comments in his post match press conference, as he admitted the absence of Jannik Sinner over the last few weeks has added to the pressure he has felt to pick up titles.

World No 1 Sinner is currently serving a three-month suspension for a doping violation and is due to return in next month’s Rome Masters.

Alcaraz won the title in Rotterdam in February as he looked to close the rankings points gap on Sinner, but he struggled to find his best form in the Indian Wells and Miami Open tournaments, with Sinner’s absence clearly on his mind.

“Since Jannik hasn’t been able to play tournaments, a lot of people have asked me about it and talked about it, about how important a time it is for me to reach No 1 again or to win tournaments,” said Alcaraz.

“Probably, in a way, I’ve been thinking about it too much instead of playing good tennis and enjoying myself on the court and in the matches. After Miami, I realized the path I have to follow, the things I have to do. I don’t have to think about the results or anything else, I just have to have fun.

“That’s the most important thing for me, and not paying attention to expectations or what people say about you. That’s what I’m trying to do, and I think it’s going well for me so far. Today was the best match I’ve played so far in this tournament. I didn’t let him get in, dominate, and come back. I showed my good tennis throughout the match.

“I’m happy to have reached this level, but I think I can do better. At the beginning of the week, with the first clay-court tournament, you focus on adapting to the conditions. The ball comes to you differently, the game on clay is different. Once I’ve reached this level, I have to keep improving and, if possible, raise it in the final.”

Sinner may not be playing in Monte Carlo, but his shadow is hanging over Alcaraz before their rivalry is renewed at some point during this already compelling European clay court season.

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Emma Raducanu is preparing to kick-start her clay court campaign for 205 and she could have a new coach alongside her when she steps onto the red clay.

The 2021 US Open champion is scheduled to play at the Madrid Open later this month, with Mark Petchey rumoured to be weighing up an offer to take over as her coach.

Petchey worked briefly with Raducanu before her famous Grand Slam win in New York and he also stepped into her camp for the Miami Open, after she parted company with Vlado Platenik shortly before her opening match in the WTA 1000 tournament.

Petchey’s influence certainly appeared to have a positive impact, with Raducanu playing her best tennis since her US Open win as she made it through to the quarter-finals in a run that included wins against top ten player Emma Navarro and recent WTA 1000 tournament winner Amanda Anisimova.

Now opportunity is about to knock for Raducanu, as she is entering a period of the season that gives her a huge chance to make a big rankings leap.

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By the time she returns to action, Raducanu will have just 10 ranking point to defend over the rest of the clay court season.

If she plays at the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, that will offer her a chance to compete for 2,000 ranking points.

That same haul of points will be on offer at the French Open and any wins at Roland Garros will be extra points added to her current total as she failed to play at the second major of the year in 2024.

Raducanu would need to be in the top 32 of the WTA Rankings to be seeded for the French Open and she will not need to many wins on clay to make that happen.

A couple of victories in Madrid would propel her up towards the top 40 of the rankings and two more wins in Rome would take her close to that rankings goal.

If she could string together three wins in both events, she would be knocking on the door of a seeding for Roland Garros.

Raducanu’s uncertainty on clay courts may make the ambition of being seeded for the French Open a little ambitious, but she could have a better chance of being among the seeds when she gets onto grass courts at Wimbledon.

Two or three wins at the French Open would give Raducanu a boost in her ranking and if she is among the top 32 seeds at the All England Club in July, she will be a threat to have a long run once again.

Raducanu has made it through to the last-16 at Wimbledon on two occasions and had a big chance to go further last year as she blew her chance to make it through to the quarter-finals with a disappointing defeat against Lulu Sun.

Raducanu struggled to kick on after that Wimbledon run last July, but the mood around her is very different after those sparkling wins in Miami.

If Petchey is added to Raducanu’s team and she can steer clear of injuries over the next few weeks, there is every reason to believe a player who had been written off by too many of her critics could be a big contender on the WTA Tour in the second half of this year.

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The 2025 Barcelona Open draw is out and we could get a Carlos Alcaraz-Arthur Fils rematch as both are in the top half of the draw.

The two young guns delivered a pulsating quarter-final at the Monte Carlo Masters and for most of the encounter it looked like the 20-year-old Frenchman would claim a statement win over the former world No 1.

Fils had a chance to break in game 11 of the second set as he was 0-40 on the Alcaraz serve, but the Spaniard battled back and then broke in the next game to take it to a third set.

The world No 15 then held a 3-1 lead in the decider, but fell away as the second seed won 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a high-quality match at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

They are in line to meet again at the next event, but they can only face each other in the semi-final.

Alcaraz, who won the title in 2022 and 2023 before missing last year’s edition due to injury, is the top seed and he takes on a qualifier in the opening round.

If he comes through that he will meet either Tomas Machac or Frances Tiafoe in the second round while a quarter-final clash against Alex de Minaur is on the cards.

Alcaraz and De Minaur could meet in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters if they beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Lorenzo Musetti in the semi-finals respectively.

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Seventh seed Fils – a quarter-finalist at the ATP 500 event in 2024 – headlines the bottom section of the top half as he opens his account against Pablo Carreno Busta while he could face third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-final.

Tsitsipas, who finished runner-up to Casper Ruud last year and to Alcaraz in 2023, kicks off against Reilly Opelka.

Defending champion Ruud also faces a qualifier in his opener while he is projected to meet the big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the second round and sixth seed Holger Rune in the quarter-final.

Fourth seed Andrey Rublev will face Stan Wawrinka or Davidovich Fokina in the second round, provided he gets past a qualifier on the round of 32.

If the seedings hold, then Rublev will face Musetti, who is hunting a maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Monte Carlo Masters, in the last eight. The Italian kicks off against Jaume Munar.

Projected Barcelona Open Quarter-final
Carlos Alcaraz v Alex de Minaur
Stefanos Tsitsipas v Arthur Fils
Lorenzo Musetti v Andrey Rublev
Holger Rune v Casper Ruud

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The boosted prize money at this year’s Monte Carlo Masters has been revealed, with the winner on Sunday set to pick up a bumper cash windfall.

With prize money rising at a rapid rate on the ATP Tour, the billionaire’s playground that is Monte Carlo was always certain to boost their cash prizes and it won’t be long before the champion at the first Masters 1000 clay court season will break through the €1m barrier for the winner.

Andrey Rublev was handed prize money of €892,590 when he won the Monte Carlo Masters in 2023 and Stefanos Tsitsipas claimed €919,075 when he picked up the big prize last year.

This year’s Monte Carlo will get a bumper €946,610, with the runner-up on Sunday handed €516,925 to compensate for the disappointment of defeat.

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The lavish sums available to the sport’s biggest names put some perspective on the challenges players lower down the ranks experience as they desperately try to fund their tennis careers.

Novak Djokovic has led the calls for players to collect more prize money, with the 24-time Grand Slam champion a vocal presence in that ongoing debate.

The top 20 players from the men’s and women’s tour sent a letter to the organisers of the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in a bid to be given a bigger slice of the financial pie in tennis last week.

Last year’s singles champions at Wimbledon took home £2.7m each while the overall pot was £50million, double the amount the All England Club awarded in 2014.

Yet overall revenues have also increased and players frequently cite comparisons to other sports, particularly basketball’s NBA, to show they are missing out.

“I think generally the sentiment is that the players feel that we should get it, when it comes to prize money at the Grand Slams, as close to the percentage of the prize money that we are getting on the [ATP] Tour on average,” said Djokovic.

“That’s something that I think would be fair because logically and rationally thinking about it, that’s probably the best case scenario. But that’s not going to happen overnight, if it happens, so it’s a long term play.

“Hopefully the Grand Slams will respond positively and want to have the players in the room and sit down and talk about the revenue shares, about not just that, but also I think players feel that they need to have counsel with Grand Slam committees and management when they are making some big changes or decisions.

“It’s important because it affects us. [On] rule changes or whatever it is, I think we need to be advised. We need to be part of the conversation.”

The prize money on offer in Monte Carlo confirms the cash at the top of the men’s game is lavish, but that does not disguise a less glamorous reality players at the lower end of the game.

The prize money debate will continue to rumble on, with the drive for players to take more from the sport now gathering real momentum.

Prize money for 2025 Monte Carlo Masters

Champion: €946,610
Finalist: €516,925
Semi-finalist: €282,650
Quarter-finalist: €154,170
Round of 16: €82,465
Round of 32: €44,220
Round of 64: €24,500

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