Tomás Etcheverry battled Carlos Alcaraz for over two hours in Monte Carlo | OneFootball

The Rainier III stadium witnessed a truly thrilling match. Carlos Alcaraz (ATP No. 1) advanced to the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 after defeating Argentina’s Tomás Etcheverry (No. 30) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in two hours and 24 minutes of play. In doing so, the player from Murcia avoided what could have been a major upset by the man from La Plata and secured a place among the final eight in the Monegasque tournament.

The start of the match was very favorable for the Spaniard. With three breaks in the first four games on the Argentine’s serve, the No. 1 built the lead he needed to take the set comfortably 6-1 in just 26 minutes.

The match changed significantly in the second set, as it was the South American who struck first, while his opponent looked more error-prone. In the end, the man from La Plata managed to close it out 6-4 to force a decider. During several stretches of the match, Alcaraz could be seen frustrated, uncomfortable, and in frequent conversation with his box.

In the third, the match remained evenly contested, but on the scoreboard the player from El Palmar was able to break the deadlock quickly. He then managed to maintain his edge and sealed it 6-3.

At ATP level, his record against Argentine players is highly favorable for the Spaniard, with 17 wins and just one loss. That only defeat came against Federico Coria in Rio de Janeiro (2020) by 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Marco Trungelliti, meanwhile, had the pleasure of beating him at the Challenger Gran Canaria 2 (2021) by 7-6 (5), 6-3. Against Etcheverry in particular, the only previous meeting had come at the Trieste Challenger (2020), with a win for Carlitos by 7-6 (2), 6-3.

In addition to defending the title, the reigning Australian Open champion arrived in Monaco with the difficult objective of holding on to the No. 1 spot in the rankings. With Jannik Sinner (No. 2) close behind, the Spaniard knows he will need to go deep in the tournament to stay at the top.

After receiving a bye in the first round, Alcaraz’s run in Monte Carlo had begun with a straightforward win over Sebastián Báez (No. 65) by 6-1, 6-3. Etcheverry, for his part, had beaten Grigor Dimitrov (No. 93) and Terence Atmane (No. 45) to reach the round of 16 for the first time.

For now, on his path to defending the crown, the 22-year-old already has his next opponent confirmed: Alexander Bublik (No. 11). Curiously, the Monte Carlo quarterfinal clash will be the first meeting between Samuel López’s pupil and the Kazakh.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.