Alcaraz beats Musetti to win his first Monte Carlo tournament

(AFP) Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, ranked third in the world, won the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 on Sunday for the first time in his career, thanks to his three-set victory against Italian Lorenzo Musetti.

Winning 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, the four-time Grand Slam champion secured his most prestigious title since his 2020 Wimbledon victory. With this win, he will rise to second place the ATP rankings, overtaking Germany's Alexander Zverev.

"I'm very happy to have won in Monte Carlo for the first time," said the Spaniard, who was eliminated in his opening match during his only previous appearance in 2022.

"It's been a really tough week with a lot of difficult situations. I'm really proud of myself, of how I've managed everything. It's been a difficult month, on and off the courts."

The 21-year-old Murcia native took home his sixth title in seven Masters 1000 finals, the most important tournaments after the four Grand Slams (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and U.S. Open). His only defeat was in the Cincinnati final against Serbian Novak Djokovic.

Winner of the Rotterdam ATP 500 on hard court last February, Alcaraz is, alongside Félix Auger-Aliassime, the only player on the circuit to have claimed more than one title in 2025. However, the Canadian's victories have come in smaller tournaments, the ATP 250 events in Adelaide and Montpellier.