Carlos Alcaraz breezed through to the Monte-Carlo Masters semi-finals by defeating Alexander Bublik in straight sets.
The Spaniard dropped just three games against the world number 11, which included an impressive second set bagel.
Alcaraz picked up his 300th ATP Tour win against Bublik and he will now play Valentin Vacherot in the semi-final.
With just one match separating the first 2026 meeting between Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the Spaniard has heaped praise on his rival.
Carlos Alcaraz praises two parts of Jannik Sinner’s game
Speaking during his Monte-Carlo Masters press conference, Alcaraz was asked about which parts of Sinner’s game he could add to his arsenal.
Alcaraz immediately highlighted two parts of his great rival’s game ahead of a potential final meeting in Monte-Carlo.
Will Jannik Sinner overtake Carlos Alcaraz and become world number one? 🤔
If so, when will he do it?
“Well, I have a couple of things to be honest. The transitions to defend, when he’s defending to attack,” said Alcaraz.
“The way that he makes a really good approach to the ball and goes aggressive. I don’t know how to explain it to be honest, but it is the way he just approached the ball. I think that’s incredible.
“It seems like he just hits the ball every time in the sweet point of the racket and that’s something that I really look a lot of a lot of times.”
Alcaraz also highlighted Sinner’s serve, which has become an even bigger weapon for the Italian this season.
“One other thing is the serve. The serve. Yeah, the serve he has improved a lot in the last six months. I really wanted [mine] to be better and just seeing sometimes what he has done different in the last six months and trying to see how I can put it on myself.”
Both Alcaraz and Sinner have improved their serve in the last year, but the Italian has really stepped it up a gear in 2026.
The star’s Sunshine Double triumph highlighted how much of a weapon his serve has become in recent months.
Carlos Alcaraz looks ahead to Valentin Vacherot clash
Alcaraz will now play Vacherot in the semi-finals, who has yet again been the standout story of a Masters event.
The Shanghai Masters champion has proved his maiden Masters victory was no fluke by reaching the semi-finals.
Carlos Alcaraz concedes Jannik Sinner will become world number one!
Will it happen this week in Monte Carlo?
He is the only player in the final four ranked outside of the top 5 and he’s produced scalps against Lorenzo Musetti and Alex de Minaur.
Alcaraz has been impressed by Vacherot’s gigantic rise over the last six months and heaped praise on the 27-year-old ahead of their first-time meeting.
“It’s impressive, his story. He has a lot of motivation playing at home,” said Alcaraz during his press conference.
“He has won great matches this tournament this year. I’ve never played against him before, I just practiced with him once at Indian Wells. I know he’s a pretty tough opponent to play.”
Vacherot will be looking for his fifth top 10 win in the last six months as he plays Alcaraz at his home tournament.
