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ATP Masters Monte Carlo

Alcaraz opens Monte Carlo defense, downplays No. 1 fight and plans a custom catamaran

Alcaraz starts Monte Carlo title defense, discusses clay, No. 1 outlook, a custom yacht order. Soon.

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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.”

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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.”

ATP French Open Grand Slam

Sinner reaches 30-match mark with straight-sets Roland Garros opener

Sinner beat Tabur 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 at Roland Garros to reach a 30-match winning streak on tour in 2026.

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Jannik Sinner opened his Roland Garros campaign with a commanding straight-sets win, defeating French wild card Clement Tabur 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday night. The Italian controlled the match from the outset, producing a confident performance in the tournament’s opening round.

The victory carried broader significance beyond a first-round result. With that triumph Sinner recorded his 30th consecutive tour-level win, becoming just the fourth man this century to reach that milestone. He joins an exclusive group that includes Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

The achievement places Sinner in rare company and underscores the scale of his run of form heading into the middle Grand Slam of the season. The list of long streaks this century remains short; the record of recent seasons shows Carlos Alcaraz’s longest tour-level run to date was 24 straight wins in 2025.

Sinner’s success in the opener was emphatic and efficient. The scoreline reflected a match in which he dictated play, converting the chance to extend a remarkable sequence of victories on the ATP Tour. For Tabur, the match represented an opportunity granted by a wild-card entry and a chance to test himself against one of the game’s form players.

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As the tournament progresses, the attention on Sinner will grow not only because of his seeding and results but also because of the rare streak he has built. Reaching 30 consecutive tour wins is a noteworthy achievement in the modern era and marks a defining moment early in his Roland Garros campaign.

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ATP French Open Grand Slam

Moise Kouame Breaks Through at Roland Garros, Channels Djokovic in Win Over Marin Cilic

Kouame, 17 mimicked Djokovic’s ear gesture, steadied himself, and beat Marin Cilic in straight sets.

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Seventeen-year-old Moise Kouame produced a composed, high-energy performance to beat Marin Cilic 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-1 and record his first victory at a major. The Paris-area native celebrated the first-set tiebreak with a finger-behind-the-ear gesture that referenced his tennis idol, Novak Djokovic, and asked the home crowd for support.

Kouame, coached by Richard Gasquet, turned two near-defeats into momentum swings late in the opening set. Serving at 4-5 and down 15-40, he twice slid to his forehand side to retrieve seemingly lost points and forced errors, then saved the next set point with a calm, aggressive backhand down the line. He later produced a backhand winner at a decisive moment in the tiebreak and closed out the match in straight sets.

Those sliding retrievals and fearless backhand strikes drew direct comparisons to Djokovic’s defensive poise. The win made Kouame the youngest man to win a round at a Slam since 2009, the year he was born. At 6’3, with notable foot speed and racquet-head speed, he was described in the match report as a promising addition to a new crop of ATP contenders that includes Rafael Jodar, Alexander Blockx, and Martin Landaluce.

Off court, Kouame presents a steady temperament uncommon for his age. He calls himself a “really chill guy” and said he enjoys F1 and music. When asked about emulating Djokovic’s ear celebration, he offered a candid demonstration: “When I’m alone and no one’s there, when I do a good thing, I’m like this,” he said with a laugh.

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Kouame also did not shy from opinion. “French rap is the best, let me say it,” he declared. Asked how he kept his composure on a big stage, he summed up his approach succinctly. “Training,” he said. “I was well-prepared, the tactics were good. I had my team, and the crowd behind me.”

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ATP French Open Grand Slam

Medvedev admits he knows why Roland Garros has been a problem but keeps it private

Medvedev admits he knows why Roland Garros eludes him but refuses to explain after first-round loss.

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Daniil Medvedev arrived at Roland Garros with recent clay results that suggested he could trouble the top players, yet Paris again halted his progress. After a semifinal showing at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia this month, where he pushed Jannik Sinner to three sets, Medvedev suffered a five-set defeat to Adam Walton and recorded his seventh opening-round exit in 10 main-draw appearances at the French Open.

The loss felt particularly perplexing: Medvedev led 4-2 in the final set, held multiple break points two games later and served for the match, only to lose the final four games. The defeat also represented his fourth Grand Slam opening-round exit in his last six majors.

When asked for an explanation in his post-match press conference, Medvedev refused to offer one. “I don’t want to find excuses,” he said. “I know why I don’t really play always my best in Roland Garros, but if I say it, it’s excuses. So, I keep it to myself.”

Despite the Paris setback, the former No. 1 and 2021 US Open champion insisted that his capacity to perform on the biggest stages has not vanished. “I do think it can come back any moment, meaning at Wimbledon, for example,” teased Medvedev, who reached back-to-back semifinals at SW19 in 2023 and 2024. “But again, if we talk in general about all four Grand Slams, I think if we compared all four Grand Slams to five years ago, the game is different in these Grand Slams, and I don’t think it suits me well. So, it’s very tough for me to get the rhythm going.

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“First round is the toughest one, and once I get through it, maybe I can do better.”

Medvedev’s clay swing showed moments of promise, but Roland Garros remains a recurring stumbling block. He will head into the remainder of the season aware of both his recent clay form and the persistent difficulty he faces in Paris.

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