(Monte-Carlo) Félix Auger-Aliassime disposed of the Italian Luca Nardi 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Monte-Carlo tennis Masters on Monday, setting the table for a duel against the third world player Carlos Alcaraz.
Auger-Aliassime, 35e world player, took one hour and 22 minutes to overcome the 20-year-old tennis player on the clay of the Rainier III court. It was the first duel between the two players in their careers on the ATP circuit.
The 23-year-old Quebecer wasn’t particularly effective with his first serve – he posted a success rate of just 55%, compared to Nardi’s 63% – although he managed six aces during the match. .
Nardi, 76e world player, however, committed twice as many double faults as Auger-Aliassime, with four. He was also unable to obtain the slightest break point against the representative of the maple leaf. For his part, Auger-Aliassime stole his rival’s service three times in seven opportunities.
Auger-Aliassime also hit an impressive 22 winners during his match, and he committed just nine unforced errors en route to the second round.
The Quebecer ended the match with the first of his two match points, and he will now face Alcaraz in the second round of the Monaco tournament.
Surprisingly, Auger-Aliassime is 3-2 in his career against the Spaniard. The problem is that Alcaraz has won their last two clashes, including the third round of the Masters in Indian Wells, California, last month.
Except that…
PHOTO GEOFF BURKE, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVES VIA REUTERS CON
Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)
Carlos Alcaraz once again reduced his training to a minimum on Monday in Monte-Carlo, playing very few forehands and none with power, visibly still bothered by his right forearm still wrapped in a bandage.
The Spaniard barely warmed up in the gym where he mainly did a few stretches and four-meter runs, before entering the training court at 12:15 p.m. under the hot sun.
And like the day before, his coach Juan Pablo Ferrero only sent him balls to the basket, without making the slightest exchange.
On the reverse side, Alcaraz (20 years old) seemed in possession of his means. But on the forehand, the rare times he touched the balls, he did so slice. He didn’t attempt a single shot from that side, covering the ball to give it power.
And even so, whether from the baseline or near the net after dropshot forward runs, his forehands more often than not failed in the net, as if he couldn’t hold his racket properly at the moment of impact, although of very low intensity.
The world No.3 ended the session at 1:25 p.m., not without taking a few glances at the court next door on which Novak Djokovic had been hitting for half an hour.
Double winner in Grand Slam (US Open 2022 and Wimbledon 2023), Alcaraz has never won a single match in Monte-Carlo. During his first participation, in 2022, he arrived exhausted after playing a semi-final in Indian Wells then winning the Miami tournament, and lost as soon as he entered the fray.
Last year he withdrew before the start of the tournament.
Tsitsipas at 2e round after Djere’s abandonment
Stefanos Tsitsipas, 12e world and double winner in 2021 and 2022, qualified Monday for the second round of the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo by benefiting from the abandonment of his opponent Laslo Djere (34e) in the middle of the second round.
The 25-year-old Greek was leading 6-3, 3-2 when his opponent, suffering from pain in his right arm, threw in the towel after 1 hour 02 minutes of the match.
“I am happy with my game at the start of the tournament, it bodes well. I hope to continue like this,” commented Tsitsipas, who fell in the quarterfinals last year.
“I am aware this year that I have to come to the net a little more than last year and not wait so much, blocked, behind the baseline to make the rally last too long,” he added.
Tsitsipas, who won his two biggest titles on the clay court of the Riviera – not counting the end-of-year Masters in 2019 – will face the Chilean Nicolas Jarry (21e) or the Argentinian Tomas Etcheverry (31e) for a place in 8e of final.
France Media Agency