Preview semifinale ATP Monte Carlo: Sinner sfida Tsitsipas

The seventh day of play at the Monte-Carlo Country Club will see the two semi-finals of the third Masters 1000 of the season.

The first semi-final of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters will start not before 13:30, where Jannik Sinner, ranked number 2 in the world, will face Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas, ranked number 12 in the world.

Sinner’s journey

After two quick wins against Korda and Struff, Sinner reaches the semi-finals after a match lasting over two hours and forty minutes against Danish player Holger Rune. In this match, the Italian had to fight hard to defeat Rune, who put him to the test both in terms of tennis level and psychologically. Sinner confirmed his solidity in 2024 and avenged last year’s defeat, securing the necessary result to maintain his number 2 ranking even after the tournament in Monaco.

Sinner’s season started unpredictably, with the Italian surprising everyone with the number of victories he achieved at the beginning of the season. With 25 wins in 26 matches played, only one loss suffered at Indian Wells after dominating the first set against Alcaraz. Sinner is currently on a streak of 9 consecutive victories.

In this season, Sinner has set new personal records, becoming the only player in the year to reach the semi-finals in all three Masters 1000 events at the beginning of the season. Including the four most important tournaments since the beginning of the year (Australian Open and the three Masters 1000 events), Sinner becomes the fourth player in history to reach at least the semi-finals in these tournaments since the creation of the Masters 1000 category in 1990. The other three are the big 3, with Federer being the first to achieve this in 2006. Nadal and Djokovic have also accomplished this feat, with Djokovic winning all four tournaments in 2015.

For Sinner, this is an opportunity to reach his fifth ATP Masters 1000 final, the first on clay, and become the third Italian in the Open Era to play for the title in Monaco after Barrazzutti (1977) and Fognini, who won against Lajovic in 2019, with Pietrangeli winning in Monte Carlo three times before the Open Era.

Tsitsipas’s journey

The return of the season on clay has brought back a shining version of Stefanos Tsitsipas. In the beginning of 2024, the Greek had to say goodbye to the top 10 after a series of results that did not match his qualities. With 15 wins and 6 losses, his best result before the Monte-Carlo tournament was reaching the semi-finals in the Los Cabos 250 event. He was stopped in the round of 16 in Melbourne and Indian Wells and exited in the first round in Miami. His most significant victory before Monte-Carlo was against Tiafoe, while he had lost to Ruud, Zverev, and de Minaur.

Monaco has revitalized Tsitsipas, a place he knows well having won twice before (2021-2022). He reached the semi-finals without dropping a set despite facing top-caliber players like Zverev (the only top 10 player he defeated in the last 52 weeks) and Khachanov. His performances against top players are noteworthy, with 8 losses and only 1 win in 2023.

For Tsitsipas, a victory against Sinner would push him back into the top 10 after being absent for 8 weeks.

Head-to-head and expectations

With 5 wins for Tsitsipas and 3 for Sinner, the Greek leading 3-1 on clay, it is worth wondering what to expect from this match considering their previous encounters. Tsitsipas won in Rome in 2019, in Barcelona in 2021, and at the Foro Italico in 2022. Sinner’s only win came in 2020 at the Internazionali d’Italia.

Their last two meetings on hard surfaces went in favor of Sinner. The Italian won in Rotterdam in 2023 and at the Torino Finals against an injured Tsitsipas. These past matches may not be relevant due to the time gap and surface difference compared to this upcoming match.

This will be their first meeting on clay between Sinner’s stellar form in 2024 and Tsitsipas’s revival on his preferred surface. Sinner mentioned that he is finding his game on clay, highlighting the effectiveness of his serve and maintaining a break after breaking the opponent’s serve.

Sinner remains the player to beat, especially according to bookmakers, considering his current level of confidence and focus.

Tsitsipas will have to step up his game to challenge Sinner, even though clay court elevates his performance. Factors in favor of Tsitsipas include the additional time clay offers him to set up and dictate play with his forehand. Maintaining solidity with his backhand, where he alternates between sublime shots and positioning errors, will also be crucial.

Another key factor will be the baseline exchanges. Sinner has shown he can dominate these exchanges even on clay, so Tsitsipas will need to vary his game, using the net and drop shots.

Sinner, on the other hand, will need to ensure a high percentage of first serves, as Rune took advantage of his slight lapses in the previous match. Finding a weakness in Sinner’s 2024 form is challenging, but he will need to be at his best to overcome the world number 12.

It will be important for the Italian to take the initiative in rallies against Tsitsipas and put pressure on his backhand, which could be vulnerable in tense moments. Another key point will be the pressure he can apply in return. Sinner has proven to be one of the best in this aspect and is finding his stride even on clay. Taking time away from Tsitsipas could make a significant difference.

We will have to wait until 13:30 to witness the spectacle offered by the two players.

The match will be broadcast on Sky’s dedicated channels and the streaming platform NowTV.