It’s Semifinal Saturday in Monte Carlo.
On Friday, Carlos Alcaraz outlasted Arthur Fils in a dramatic and compelling three-set quarterfinal. Now Alcaraz will face fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, a finalist here three years ago. The other singles semifinal sees Lorenzo Musetti, who on Friday upset three-time and defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, take on Alex de Minaur, who on the same day thumped Grigor Dimitrov by a score of 6-0, 6-0.
Plus, the doubles semifinals feature both of the top two seeds.
Each day, this preview will analyze the most intriguing matchup, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Saturday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) – Not Before 1:00pm on Court Rainier III
Against Fils, Alcaraz came from behind in all three sets: losing the first set 7-5 despite coming back, taking the second set 7-5 by winning nine of the last 10 points, and winning the last five games of the third after falling behind 3-1. Carlitos is now 18-4 on the year, and is 6-3 in Masters 1000 semifinals. But just a month ago, he lost his most recent Masters semifinal to Jack Draper at Indian Wells.
Davidovich Fokina outlasted Draper in a grueling three-set match on Thursday, then comfortably overcame Alexei Popyrin in straights on Friday. Like Carlitos, Alejandro has 18 wins on the year, though he also has four more losses. The 25-year-old reached back-to-back finals earlier this season in Delray Beach and Acapulco, yet failed to win either final, as he’s still without an ATP title. His only other career final came back in 2022 at this tournament.
Their only prior encounter occurred two years ago in the quarterfinals of Barcelona, where Alcaraz was victorious after two tight sets. And Alcaraz is certainly the favorite to win again on Saturday, as his game is simply a lot more imposing than Davidovich Fokina’s. However, Alejandro is currently playing the best tennis of his career, and Monte Carlo is easily his best Masters event, where he is now 12-4. So I expect a close matchup between these two, and an upset would not be shocking considering how unpredictable the ATP tour has been of late, and how up-and-down Carlitos’s level has been.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Romain Arneodo and Manuel Guinard (WC) vs. Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten (2) – This is a second consecutive Masters semifinal for Heliovaara and Patten, who are the reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open champions. Arneodo was a surprise runner-up here two years ago, while Guinard is playing to reach the biggest final of his career.
Lorenzo Musetti (13) vs. Alex de Minaur (8) – This is a first Masters semifinal for Musetti, and only the second for de Minaur, who advanced to the final in Canada two years ago. These players have split two prior encounters, with Alex prevailing on a hard court, and Musetti prevailing on grass.
Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic (1) vs. Julian Cash and Lloyd Liverpool (7) – This is a rematch of the Miami final from just two weeks ago, when Arevalo and Pavic prevailed in straight sets.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.
