Carlos Alcaraz brushed off a shaky start in his first match of the clay season to earn a convincing victory over Francisco Cerundolo at the 2025 Monte Carlo Masters.
The four-time major champion prevailed 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 against Cerundolo on Court Rainier III in the second round of the Masters 1000 tournament.
Alcaraz looked in trouble in the opening game of the second set as he had to fend off two break points, but he dropped just one game thereafter as he blew the world No 22 off the court.
“Well, I didn’t start well,” the Spaniard admitted in his on-court interview. “I just wanted to get the good pace at the beginning of the match, but I think I made a lot of mistakes.
“I think I let him play inside the court, dominate the points, so I was more in the defensive part.
“So after the first set, I just knew that I had to do something else. I had to play more aggressively, I had to play my own tennis. I just enjoy that tennis, you know, drop shots, going to the net, playing more aggressive. I think I did it pretty well.
“I think the first and the most important adjustment was the return. I just tried to return more close to the line, just pushing him to defence [on] the first ball, and after that, playing good shots and dominate the game. I think I did it pretty well.”
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After his victory, Alcaraz expressed his appreciation for this period of the tennis season as he wrote “I missed clay” on the camera lens.
Carlos Alcaraz signs the camera after beating Cerundolo in Monte Carlo:
“I missed clay!” pic.twitter.com/VCD8JvC69S
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 9, 2025
Asked where he ranks clay on his list of favourite surfaces, Alcaraz said: “I don’t know. I always say that, until now, I always put it (clay) second, I prefer to play on hard-court.
“Right now, I don’t know, I’m gonna put it first. I just missed the clay season, yeah, since the Olympic Games that I haven’t played on clay.
“And I think I love this part of the year, I love watching the matches here on clay, I grew up playing on this surface. So I’m gonna put it [number] 1, first (smiles).”
The world No 3 will play 84th-ranked Daniel Altmaier in the third round.
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