Alex de Minaur faced a tough defeat against Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot, who triumphed with a scoreline of 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, earning his spot in the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters. This marks a significant achievement for Vacherot, who has risen dramatically in the rankings, moving from 285th last year to breaking into the top 20 for the first time.
Vacherot’s next challenge will be against world number one Carlos Alcaraz, while the other semifinal will see Jannik Sinner take on Alexander Zverev.
The loss was particularly disheartening for de Minaur, currently ranked sixth in the world. With his mother present in the player’s box at the Monte Carlo Country Club, he watched yet another promising opportunity slip away. Despite showing resilience against the powerful Vacherot, de Minaur ultimately fell short after a hard-fought match lasting two hours and 24 minutes.
The local crowd, which included family and friends of Vacherot, erupted in cheers as he overcame the determined Australian. De Minaur managed to save two match points with impressive drop shots in the final game, but ultimately succumbed to a formidable forehand service-return winner from Vacherot.
This unexpected semifinal lineup in Monte Carlo features the top three players in the world—Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Alexander Zverev—alongside Vacherot, who had been ranked 285th just a year ago.
“It feels incredible to be alongside the top three players of recent years. Competing against Carlos in the semifinal at my home is truly amazing,” Vacherot expressed. His remarkable ascent began at the Shanghai Masters in October, where he won as the 204th-ranked player after advancing through qualifying rounds.
Prior to this year, Vacherot had never progressed beyond the second round at his home Masters tournament, but he has now made it into the top 20 for the first time in his career.
For de Minaur, this loss means he will lose ranking points and drop from his career-best position after reaching the semifinals in the previous year’s tournament.
The tournament organizers are thrilled with the semifinal lineup, which has the potential to set the stage for a Sinner-Alcaraz final. This match would be their first encounter on clay since last year’s thrilling French Open final, which Alcaraz won, and it could also determine the world number one ranking.
Alcaraz demonstrated his dominance by defeating Alexander Bublik with a commanding score of 6-3, 6-0, marking the 300th tour-level victory of his career in just his 367th match. In the Open era, only legends Rod Laver and Jimmy Connors reached this milestone faster.
Meanwhile, Sinner achieved a remarkable feat by becoming the fourth player ever to achieve 20 consecutive Masters 1000 victories, overcoming Felix Auger-Aliassime with a score of 6-3, 6-4. He joins the ranks of tennis greats Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic in accomplishing this milestone. Sinner will next face Zverev, who had to put forth his best effort to defeat the young Brazilian Joao Fonseca with a score of 7-5, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3.
