Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz continued their tussle for the world number one spot as they opened their clay-court seasons with commanding second-round wins at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Fresh from completing the ‘Sunshine Double’ without dropping a set, Sinner needed only 64 minutes to complete a 6-3 6-0 demolition of Frenchman Ugo Humbert – conceding just six points in the second set.
It was an 18th successive Masters 1000 win for the Italian second seed, who has now won 36 consecutive sets at that level.
If Sinner goes all the way and wins in Monaco he will replace Alcaraz as the world number one when the rankings are updated on Monday.
Alcaraz, the defending champion, opened his clay-court season with a 6-1 6-3 victory in 70 minutes against Argentina’s Sebastian Baez – a six-time ATP Tour champion on clay – later on Tuesday.
It was the Spaniard’s first match on clay since he triumphed over Sinner in last year’s enthralling French Open final, when he came back from two sets down and saved three Championship points en route to his second Roland Garros title.
Alcaraz, who had a 22-1 record on clay and won three titles on the surface in 2025, has held the number one spot since November.
“I’m going to lose number one in the world. I don’t know if it is going to be at this tournament or the next one,” said Alcaraz.
“I’m defending a bunch of points that are going to be really difficult to defend. Even if I defend them, Jannik is going to add some points.
“I will just try to play my best and let’s see what happens, but for me the number one spot is not in my mind right now. I’m just trying to feel the best way on clay courts and let’s see how the clay swing goes.”
The gap between the pair is down to 1,190 points as the season moves on to the European clay-court swing.
Sinner has no ranking points to defend until the Italian Open at the start of May because he was serving a three-month suspension this time last year for failing two doping tests.
He will need to reach at least the semi-finals and then better Alcaraz’s result in Monte Carlo if he is to swap ranking places with the seven-time major winner.
Sinner will face Argentine Francisco Cerundolo in the next round, while Alcaraz will play either Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina or France’s Terence Atmane.