Monte Carlo Masters LIVE: Alcaraz beats Vacherot to set up blockbuster final with Sinner

[p][b]17:07 CET - [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alcaraz-garfia-carlos/UkhgIFEq/"]Carlos Alcaraz[/a] is through to face rival [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sinner-jannik/6HdC3z4H/"]Jannik Sinner[/a] in tomorrow's Monte Carlo Masters final after the Spaniard survived the test of home favourite [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vacherot-valentin/rFqoSYd8/"]Valentin Vacherot[/a] to prevail [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/alcaraz-garfia-c-UkhgIFEq/vacherot-v-rFqoSYd8/?mid=tYmITb13"]6-4, 6-4[/a] in 85 minutes.[/b][/p][p]The top seed and defending champion wasn't at his blistering best throughout the contest, but he managed to elevate his game in several of the key moments at the back end of the second set to conclude the impressive run of 27-year-old Vacherot.[/p][p]Alcaraz, who won a superb 81% of points behind his first delivery and has now racked up 17 straight victories on clay, will take on Sinner in Sunday's showpiece with the world No.1 ranking on the line for both men.[/p][p]What a final we have in store.[/p][embed guid="cb59ca66-45c5-4dcb-b5a2-2d964da0f770" url="https://x.com/ROLEXMCMASTERS/status/2042982079948869923" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]16:15 CET - [/b]Alcaraz has won the opening set of the second semi-final, but thus far, it's been much more of a contest than the first.[/p][p]Both the world number one and Vacherot have served well, getting most of their first serves in and barely dropping points on them, but Alcaraz converted the only break point of the set at 1-1 and leads 6-4 as a result.[/p][p]With the crowd behind him and his serve firing, Vacherot is very much still in this, but he needs to start putting his opponent under pressure when returning.[/p][embed guid="7bdac95e-16e1-475a-b263-e9068d33861e" url="https://x.com/atptour/status/2042970254507229648" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]15:05 CET - [/b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sinner-jannik/6HdC3z4H/"]Jannik Sinner[/a] is a Monte Carlo finalist! He's reached it for the first time ever by wrapping up [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/sinner-j-6HdC3z4H/zverev-a-dGbUhw9m/?mid=67Lw1pO6"]a 6-1, 6-4 win over Zverev[/a], extending his winning run in Masters events to 21 matches.[/p][p]Zverev put up much more of a fight in the second set, doing better on his own serve, but he wasn't able to force a single break point and lost the one he had to defend in the final game.[/p][p]Sinner is the first player in 10 years to reach four Masters 1000 finals in a row, and is one win away from becoming the world number one again.[/p][embed guid="bed0632f-a081-4342-8ce7-86923f06a494" url="https://x.com/TennisTV/status/2042953158180196555" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]14:17 CET - [/b]In just 34 minutes, the opening set is already over, with Sinner losing just one game to take a 6-1 lead over Zverev.[/p][p]The Italian lost just five of 19 points on his serve and lost just eight when returning, continuing the dominant run he's been on against the German, who has now lost 10 sets in a row to him.[/p][embed guid="a8ad8d44-1337-40a9-be1f-6bb4180fd3b5" url="https://x.com/TennisTV/status/2042941298546548925" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]13:50 CET - [/b]Today's action is underway, and Sinner has made a flying start, fighting back from 40-15 down to break Zverev's serve in the opening game.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/sinner-j-6HdC3z4H/zverev-a-dGbUhw9m/?mid=67Lw1pO6"]Follow every point of the clash here.[/a][/b][/p][embed guid="be28efff-240d-4d0c-a6af-eccc2a76b063" url="https://x.com/ROLEXMCMASTERS/status/2042930970735546850" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]13:00 CET - [/b]The second semi-final of the day will pit Carlos Alcaraz against not just his opponent, but the entirety of Monte Carlo, with home hero Valentin Vacherot sending crowds wild this week with a fairytale run to the semis.[/p][p]He's far more than just a plucky underdog though, with the Monegasque building on his shock triumph at the Shanghai Masters late last year - which he won as a qualifier - by working his way into the world's top 20 in 2026 and beating some top players in the process.[/p][p]This week alone, he's battled past world number five [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/musetti-lorenzo/xtH2ODVI/"]Lorenzo Musetti[/a] and world number six [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/de-minaur-alex/EZgZ9Xfh/"]Alex De Minaur[/a].[/p][p]However, his first-ever meeting with Alcaraz will be the biggest challenge yet of his remarkable rise.[/p][image alt="Vacherot's road to the final" id="17475062-2e78-4365-b41c-2ac345d54bf1" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="7fb93ed1-9dad-45dd-a91e-829f9aa581dc" original-width="955" original-height="279" /][p][b]10:40 CET -[/b] The first semi-final at Monte Carlo today sees world number two [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sinner-jannik/6HdC3z4H/"]Jannik Sinner[/a] take on third seed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zverev-alexander/dGbUhw9m/"]Alexander Zverev[/a]. Both players will be making their third last-four appearance at the clay-court event, with neither having yet won the title in their careers.[/p][p]The head-to-head stats favour the Italian heavily, with Sinner having won their last seven meetings, quite incredibly. What's more, Zverev has lost to his opponent twice this season already, in the semi-finals of both Indian Wells and Miami, failing to win a set either time.[/p][p]If it's some consolation, the German won three of his first four matches against Sinner, but that is starting to feel like ancient history. He'll be hoping the No. 2 has an off day today, and will need to be at his very best to force an upset in Monaco.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/sinner-j-6HdC3z4H/zverev-a-dGbUhw9m/?mid=67Lw1pO6"]Follow the match live here from 13:30 CET.[/a] [/b][/p][image alt="Sinner has dominated his recent meetings with Zverev" id="604e9b60-c4cd-4aca-8717-13b66cd1e9a2" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="94d94886-5ae2-4bb3-a80f-dcaf9edf81a2" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b]9:00 CET -  [/b]Hello, and welcome to our coverage of the 2026 Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals. Only four men remain in the season's first major clay-court event, and today we will find out who will feature in tomorrow's tournament decider.[/p][p]Most neutrals will want to see another epic final between the top two players in the world - [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alcaraz-garfia-carlos/UkhgIFEq/"]Carlos Alcaraz[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sinner-jannik/6HdC3z4H/"]Jannik Sinner[/a] - but that is not a foregone conclusion...[/p][embed guid="8a5b284f-ca2a-4e76-8614-b9858fee7a80" url="https://x.com/ROLEXMCMASTERS/status/2042666250497622128" social-type="twitter" /][p]Sinner will take on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zverev-alexander/dGbUhw9m/"]Alexander Zverev[/a] in the first semi, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/sinner-j-6HdC3z4H/zverev-a-dGbUhw9m/?mid=67Lw1pO6"]from 13:30 CET[/a]. The Italian is the favourite, but he did wobble in his third-round tie and could be pushed the distance by the third-seeded German.[/p][p]After that, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/alcaraz-garfia-c-UkhgIFEq/vacherot-v-rFqoSYd8/?mid=tYmITb13"]from 15:30 CET[/a], Alcaraz faces local hero [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vacherot-valentin/rFqoSYd8/"]Valentin Vacherot[/a], who has had a fairytale run to a first semi-final appearance on home soil and became the first Monegasque player to reach the ‌last-four at Monte Carlo yesterday.[/p][p]Can Vacherot continue the dream in his first-ever meeting with Alcaraz? The home fans will certainly be hoping so![/p][p][b]If you want to dive further into each match, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/news/atp-monte-carlo-masters-2026-semi-finals-preview/vm977Oq4/"]read our in-depth preview of the semi-finals here.[/a][/b][/p][p]Catch up on the highlights of the quarter-finals below, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/atp-singles/monte-carlo/"]and find all the scores here[/a]:[/p][embed guid="b1789db5-4abb-457a-907d-7b3740c3230a" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpRq0hV2taQ&pp=ygUDQVRQ" social-type="youtube" /]