A new Monte Carlo champion will be crowned this weekend.
The four singles semifinalists are all under the age of 26, seeded 5-8 in the draw, and have never won a Masters 1000 title on clay. Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune have both claimed a Masters title on a hard court, while Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev have both twice been Masters 1000 finalists. But the winner of Sunday’s final will be breaking new ground in their career.
Each day, this preview will analyze the most intriguing matchup, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Saturday’s play gets underway at 11:30am local time.
Jannik Sinner (7) vs. Holger Rune (6) – Not Before 3:30pm on Court Rainier III
Rune is 16-7 this season, and had a comfortable road to this final, winning two straight-setters and receiving a walkover in the third round. Last year on clay, he was the champion in Munich and a quarterfinalist at Roland Garros.
Sinner is 24-5 on the year, and saved a match point against Hubert Hurkacz in a comeback victory on Thursday. He is vying for his second consecutive Masters 1000 final, after losing to Daniil Medvedev in the championship match of the Miami Open two weeks ago, despite defeating Carlos Alcaraz in a scintillating semifinal. Jannik was 15-4 on clay in 2022, winning a title in Umag.
Their only prior encounter took place last fall on an indoor hard court in Sofia, with Rune prevailing as Sinner retired down 5-2 in the third set due to an ankle injury. 19-year-old Holger and 21-year-old Jannik possess a similar playing style, with plenty of firepower from the back of the court. While Sinner has the stronger record this year, as well as a much stronger clay court resume, I give Rune the slight edge on Saturday. Holger feels due for another strong result at a big event, and Jannik is just 4-7 in quarterfinals or semifinals at Majors or Masters events since the start of last year.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Andrey Rublev (5) vs. Taylor Fritz (8) – Both players have only dropped one set to this stage, with Fritz notably taking out two-time defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last round. Taylor leads their head-to-head 4-2, and has won their last three meetings, though all six encounters have occurred on a hard court.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.