Toronto Masters: Alcaraz advances to third round; Monfils surprises Tsitsipas

In the Toronto Masters tennis tournament, Spain's Carlos Alcaraz qualified for the third round after defeating American Ben Shelton 6-3 and 7-6 (7-3).

Alcaraz aims to win his third consecutive title after victories in the London Queen's Club Championships and Wimbledon, the third of the four Grand Slam majors, in the last two months. Boasting a record of 48 wins against just four defeats this year, Alcaraz is preparing to defend his title at Flushing Meadows later this month.

Despite winning in two sets within 56 minutes, Alcaraz admitted that the match was not easy. "He was more aggressive than me at the start of the match. I tried to find my rhythm and stability but faced some difficulties," Alcaraz said, adding, "But I'm happy to reach the next round, matches like this help me focus. I need to play better from now on."

Alcaraz will face Poland's Hubert Hurkacz in the next round.

In a surprising turn of events, France's Gaël Monfils, ranked 276th in the world, defeated Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-3. Monfils secured his first victory over a top-10 player since March 2022. Having suffered from a series of injuries in recent years and falling to 276th globally, the 36-year-old Monfils returned to the courts last March.

"After losing the first match point, I kept my cool and tried to make simple choices," Monfils said, adding that he stayed calm, with no panic. "I knew that Stef came here with a lot of confidence and would continue his shots."

Monfils will face the winner between American Sebastian Korda and Australian Alex de Minaur in the third round. Monfils' win was notable, especially considering Tsitsipas recently won the Los Cabos tournament in Mexico. The victory reflects the Frenchman's desire to make a strong return to competition.

In other matches, Russia's Daniil Medvedev reached the third round by defeating Italy's Matteo Arnaldi 6-2, 7-5, while Canada's Milos Raonic beat Japan's Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-3. Veteran British player Andy Murray overcame Australian Max Purcell, a qualifier, 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 7-5.

Meanwhile, Russia's Andrey Rublev, the 2017 champion, lost to American Mackenzie McDonald 4-6, 3-6, and Germany's Alexander Zverev fell to Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 1-6, 2-6.

The all-Italian face-off between Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini ended with a victory for the former, 6-4, 6-3.

The Toronto Masters continues to showcase thrilling matchups, surprising upsets, and top-tier tennis, promising even more excitement in the coming rounds as the world's best players compete for the prestigious title.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFP