Zverev also advances as Djokovic wins to progress to the third round of the Monte Carlo tournament.
On Tuesday, in a rain-delayed third day of play at the Monte Carlo Masters, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic easily advanced to the third round by defeating Roman Safiullin of Russia 6-1 6-2.
Djokovic, who withdrew from the Miami Open in an attempt to better manage his schedule, appeared in excellent form as he broke Safiullin’s service three times in the first set and twice more in the second to secure the victory.
“I believe that I had break points in every game, even the ones that I lost. The opening match of the clay season is really fantastic,” he remarked.
At 36 years and 321 days, Djokovic surpassed Roger Federer on Sunday to become the oldest player to hold the top spot in the ATP rankings.
“The oldest doubles No. 1 in history, Rohan Bopanna, is the person I met yesterday. He mentioned that our combined age was 80, but he makes a more contribution to that total than I do, Djokovic jokingly said.
The Italian defeated France’s Arthur Fils 6-3 7-5 later on Tuesday, setting up a meeting between the 2013 and 2015 champion Serb and Lorenzo Musetti, who defeated him in the third round last year.
“I want to keep up this pace because I lost the second match at this tournament last year as well,” Djokovic continued.
Alexander Zverev, the fifth seed from Germany, defeated Sebastian Ofner 6-3 6-4 in his second round match with ease. In the second set, behind 5-2, the Austrian eventually broke serve, but Zverev easily won the match.
Zverev is waiting for the winner of Tomas Etcheverry vs. 12th-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, the two-time champion.
ADVANCES OF HURKACZ
With a 6-4 3-6 7-6(2) victory, Hubert Hurkacz advanced to the second round. However, Jack Draper of Britain forced a battle when the Polish 10th seed appeared to be in control early on.
Hurkacz jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the opening set, but Draper fought back to tie the match at 4–4 before the Pole broke the serve to win the first set. Then, in order to win the second set and force a decider, Draper twice broke to love.
Draper broke serve with Hurkacz serving at 5-4 to win the match, but Hurkacz emerged triumphant in the tiebreak, much to his relief.
Hurkacz, who defeated Draper in the previous year’s competition, will play Spanishman Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round.
Former champion Stan Wawrinka presented little of a test to Alex de Minaur, who won 6-3 6-0 to go to the second round.
Wawrinka took home the trophy in 2014, but ten years later, the 39-year-old Swiss was no match for the 11th-seeded Australian, who claimed the second set in only twenty-four minutes and will now play Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.
With a 6-1, 6-2 victory over 2022 finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain, American Sebastian Korda also cruised into the second round. However, he will have a far tougher challenge next up against world No. 2 Jannik Sinner.
“Undoubtedly, he’s maybe the greatest tennis player in the world at the moment,” Korda declared prior to their encounter on Wednesday with the recent Australian Open champion.
It will be our first encounter on the clay, and he has had a tremendous season. I will simply attempt to go out, give it my all, and observe the outcome.”
Due to an arm injury, No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the competition. Lorenzo Sonego, a fortunate loser who will face Felix Auger-Aliassime, took his place in the second round.
Alcaraz withdraws from the Monte Carlo Masters due to injury
Carlos Alcaraz, ranked third in the world, stated on social media on Tuesday that he had withdrew from the Monte Carlo Masters due to a right forearm injury.
He posted on X, “I am unable to play since I am working in Monte Carlo and trying to recover until the last minute from an injured pronator teres in my right arm, but it was not possible.”
The 20-year-old Spaniard was expected to go straight into the second round in Monte Carlo on Wednesday against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. His most recent encounter ended in a straight sets loss to Grigor Dimitrov in Miami last month.
The Italian Lorenzo Sonego, who was drafted in as a lucky loser, will take his spot in the draw, the ATP stated.
“I was eager to play, really eager. Alcaraz, a two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 who has never won a match at the Monte Carlo Masters, said, “See you next year.”
After a great American tour that saw him win in Miami and go to the semifinals at Indian Wells, he arrived in 2022 fatigued and lost to American Sebastian Korda in the opening round.
He withdrew from the competition last year shortly before it began.
Alcaraz waited until the third day to declare his withdrawal this time, which was understandable considering his previous training sessions and his lackluster performance on Sunday and Monday when he did not participate in any rallies.
