With loud chants of “Go Sinner” echoing from the Forza fans at Court Rainier III, Jannik Sinner looked locked in and driven by redemption. Battling through tricky, windy conditions, he edged the first set and from that point on, he knew the finish line was within reach.

For Carlos Alcaraz, though, it was a different story. He struggled to match Sinner’s level on the day, and at one stage, his frustration even spilled over toward his team as the match began to slip away.

During a mid-match changeover, Carlos Alcaraz was caught offering a blunt assessment to his coach, Samuel Lopez:

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“He gets everything on the first serve and I don’t get a single one. The first serve is the difference in everything.”

To his credit, Alcaraz responded immediately, stepping back to the baseline and firing off a couple of big first serves. But it still wasn’t enough to turn the match around.

The mid-match confession to his coach, as straightforward as it gets, underlined the self-awareness of the Spaniard, and pointed to an area he knew he had to fix, even within the match.

In fact, after his semifinal win over Valentin Vacherot, the Spaniard openly admitted that his serve needed improvement. He didn’t wait around either, heading straight to the practice court with his coach, Samuel Lopez, to put in the work right after the match.

However, against Sinner, Alcaraz still struggled to find the rhythm he usually enjoys on clay courts.

It marked the first meeting of 2026 between Alcaraz and Sinner, and with the win in the Principality, Sinner reclaimed the World No. 1 spot. Alcaraz, meanwhile, ended his stint at the top having spent a total of 66 weeks there, level with Sinner’s tally.

Alcaraz had a 10-6 lead in their Head2Head series going into the match, but Sinner was in good form, 21 consecutive Masters 1000 wins, and only one set lost in 20 out of those matches.

Jannik Sinner wins fifth Masters title in a row

Carlos Alcaraz tried to stage a comeback in the second set, but the Italian had a solution for everything on the clay of Monte-Carlo. The Spaniard was just able to win three games in the second set, as the first serve issue lingered. He saved five break points in that set, but it was not enough to counter flawless gameplay by Jannik Sinner. 

This is the first major title Sinner has won on the surface. He reached the finals of the Rome and the French Open last year, but lost to Alcaraz on both occasions. Finally, getting his redemption in Monte-Carlo meant a lot to him. 

“It means a lot to me. At the same time, the ranking is secondary. I’m very happy to win at least one big trophy on this surface. I haven’t done it before. It means a lot to me,” Sinner said after the victory.

The 22-year-old was gracious in congratulating his opponent. He applauded Sinner on his sensational run of winning his third Masters title in a row. 

“It’s impressive what you are achieving right now. As far as I am concerned, just one man in the Open Era won the Sunshine Double and then Monte Carlo, and you are the second one to achieve. It’s something incredible and I just experienced how difficult it is to make that happen, so congratulations for everything, for the work you are doing with your team,” Alcaraz stated in his runner-up speech. 

The four-time Grand Slam champion will regain his spot as the world No. 1 on Monday. We have witnessed the first Sincaraz show of the year; they are both scheduled to play at Madrid next, and fans are now hoping to get another showdown at La Caja Magica.