ATP Monte-Carlo: Carlos Alcaraz reaches first Masters 1000 final in over a year with win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Carlos Alcaraz is into his first Masters 1000 final for over a year as he dispatched his compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets to reach Sunday's finale at the Monte-Carlo Masters. Alcaraz came through 7-6(2) 6-4 in two hours and 10 minutes, setting up a meeting with Lorenzo Musetti in the final after the Italian 13th seed beat Alex de Minaur in the other semi-final.

Carlos Alcaraz said that some people "are not patient" as he reached his first Masters 1000 final in over a year by beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Alcaraz, the world No. 3, needed two hours and 10 minutes to defeat his unseeded compatriot, who has impressed on the Monaco clay, stunning fifth seed Jack Draper and 11th seed Ben Shelton en route to the last four.

But his fairytale run was abruptly halted by Alcaraz, although the four-time Grand Slam champion struggled at points, particularly in a hard-fought opening set that took over an hour to conclude.

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Alcaraz so often relies on his frightening forehand to win him big points in tight matches, but it was the stroke that was letting him down most in the first set, with the Spaniard making 11 unforced errors off his preferred wing.

He was broken back by Davidovich Fokina as he served for the set at 5-3 - dropping a set point in the process - before he found his rhythm in the tie-break, taking that comfortably 7-2.

In the second set, he seemed more assured, breaking his opponent in the opening game at the fourth time of asking, although he spurned six double-break opportunities at 2-0, with Davidovich Fokina clinging on to stay in the contest.

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Again, Alcaraz was not quite at his best towards the business end of the encounter, letting four match points pass him by as Davidovich Fokina served to stay in the affair.

But he was powerless to deny Alcaraz the sixth time, with the 21-year-old finally converting the second of his service game to book his place in the final.

The reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion spoke of his relief to get the monkey off his back and progress into a first Masters 1000 final since his triumph at Indian Wells in March 2024.

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"It’s been a long time," said Alcaraz "I just had to be patient and believe that this moment was going to come again.

"Sometimes the people are not patient, they want me to make the final in every tournament. I’m really happy to give them the chance to watch one of my finals again.

"I think I played really good tennis from the beginning until the last point. I tried to take the chances he gave me in the match.

"He saved a lot of break points and match points, but I’m really happy to [have] thought about myself. The most important thing is that I’m feeling great physically."

In the other semi-final, Lorenzo Musetti beat Alex de Minaur in three sets, coming back from one down to defeat the Australian 1-6 6-4 7-6(4).

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