Carlos Alcaraz began his bid to defend the Monte Carlo crown with a straight-set win over Sebastian Baez, signaling the start of a busy clay season he described as “Two long months ahead, but exciting ones.” Last year he compiled a 22-1 run on European clay that began with his maiden triumph at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. This week he opened his title defense with a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Baez.

The 22-year-old, a six-time major champion, made clear how much clay means to him in conversation with Prakash Amritraj on a non-match day Wednesday. “I enjoy so much playing on clay. I miss it so much. For me, that’s the most important thing,” he said.

Alcaraz also addressed his standing at the top of the rankings. He is tied with Jannik Sinner at 66 weeks as world No. 1, but he accepts that the position may not remain his for long after Sinner closed the gap with a Sunshine Double sweep and could challenge to reclaim the spot as early as next Monday. “The No. 1 spot is not in my mind,” he asserted. “As I said yesterday, sooner or later, I’m gonna lose it because Jannik has some tournaments he doesn’t defend (points) at all and I have a lot to defend. So I will try to just focus on my tennis, to be good on the court.”

Off the court, Alcaraz has indulged his interest in the sea. Images from the Miami Open showed him aboard a Sunreef Catamaran, and he has ordered his own custom Ultima 88 from the same builder. “Mine, they’re gonna build it. It’s going to take one year, one year and a half. So I’m super excited about it,” he said, adding that the water helps him unwind: “During the sea, everything is chill. My thing to disconnect from everything.”

When Tommy Paul expressed interest in joining, Alcaraz laughed about the invitation and the terms. “I saw Tommy Paul saying like…” Amritraj replied, “He wants to get on there,” and Alcaraz finished the thought: “I better invite him. I will for sure,” and “But I’ll tell him you’re gonna take me out for fishing. Half and half, I’m gonna make a deal with him.”

Grigor Dimitrov’s long run inside the ATP Top 100 is set to conclude after a first-round loss at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Dimitrov, who reentered the Top 100 on April 2, 2012 after his first Top 10 victory over Tomas Berdych at the Miami Open, remained in the elite ranking band for the next 14 years and rose as high as No. 3.

On Tuesday he fell 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 to Tomas Martin Etcheverry and dropped to 2-7 on the season. The impending exit from the Top 100 is partly attributed to the time Dimitrov missed in 2025 following a pectoral muscle injury sustained with a two-set lead on Jannik Sinner in the fourth round of Wimbledon. Dimitrov played just one match at the Paris Rolex Masters after that injury and entered Monte Carlo defending quarterfinal points.

Jannik Sinner and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz both advanced comfortably in their openers. Sinner, the world No. 2, extended his unbeaten set streak in ATP Masters 1000 competition to 36 while following a Sunshine Double sweep at Indian Wells and Miami. He defeated Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-0.

“I’m just very happy to be back in Europe, especially here at home sleeping in my own bed. You’re seeing tennis in a different view, you’re slightly more relaxed coming here knowing the place really well,” he told Prakash Amritraj. “It was a really solid performance today against a very tough player, lefty.”

Sinner is pursuing his first clay-court title since July 2022, when he beat Alcaraz in Umag. He was runner-up to Alcaraz in both last year’s Rome and Roland Garros finals.

Alcaraz, the 22-year-old defending champion, began his title defense with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Sebastian Baez, breaking five times from 10 opportunities. Both men will carry momentum as the tournament progresses while Dimitrov faces the end of an era in the ATP rankings.

Stan Wawrinka closed another chapter at a tournament that has long figured in his career, bowing out in the opening round of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The three-time major winner fell 7-5, 7-5 to Sebastian Baez, ending a relationship with the event that stretches back two decades.

Wawrinka first appeared at the Monte-Carlo Country Club 20 years ago and built memorable moments there, including a semifinal run in 2009 that followed his first head-to-head victory over Roger Federer. His most notable result came in 2014, when he captured his only ATP Masters 1000 title, rallying past Federer after facing match points. “Matches against Roger were always complicated because of this close relationship, so having been able to overcome this and win the tournament was exceptional for me,” he reflected in press.

Now ranked No. 104 after a return to the Top 100 in mid-February, Wawrinka has split his time between tour-level events and ATP Challenger tournaments since the 2025 season began. He is plotting a modest schedule as he pursues appearances at the remaining majors and a handful of preferred stops.

“I’m playing next week Barcelona, then probably Rome (qualifying), Geneva. I will see if I have the chance to play Roland Garros,” Wawrinka said.

He further outlined his hopes for the grass and summer swing. “I would love to play something on the grass. Hopefully Wimbledon. Then I play Gstaad, Estoril. Hopefully I can play US Open. We will see if I play a tournament before, Cincinnati (qualifying) or maybe a challenger. After, we’ll see. Basel, for sure. Lyon also.”

Basel remains a fitting potential finale, but Wawrinka has not committed to a definitive end point. For now, his focus is on fitting the rest of 2026 into a final season that honours both his past successes and the practicalities of the present ranking and form.