World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz booked his place in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time with a dominant 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 win over fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Saturday.
He will face either Alex de Minaur or Lorenzo Musetti on the red clay in Sunday's final.
"I knew how well Davidovich Fokina had played in Monte Carlo so I had to be ready to fight," said Alcaraz.
Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam champion, is targeting his first Masters title since winning in Indian Wells last year and his first on clay since the 2024 French Open.
"It's been a long time since I've had the chance to win a title on clay and I can't wait to try my luck again here," said Alcaraz, who was beaten in the final of the Olympic tournament by Novak Djokovic in August.
His only title this season remains the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam in February but he appears to be enjoying his return to clay.
The victory also continues the uptick in his fortune at an event where he had lost his only other match in 2022.
Alcaraz won his only previous encounter with Davidovich Fokina, ranked 42 in the world, on the clay in Barcelona two years ago and he started quickly this time, breaking early.
Davidovich Fokina, who reached the last 16 of the Australia Open in January, broke back to make it 5-5 and then took the first set into the tie-break which he lost 7/2.
Alcaraz again broke early in the second set and this time there was no way back for Davidovich Fokina although he scrapped hard, saving 13 break points and four match points.
Meanwhile, Italian Lorenzo Musetti beat a "heartbroken" Stefanos Tsitsipas 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday to knock out the holder and reach the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters.
Musetti fought back after losing the first set against the three-time tournament winner to tee up a last four tie with Australian Alex de Minaur.
The 23-year-old claimed his first victory over the Greek former world number three in five meetings.
"It has a special, let's say, flavour not just because he's the defending champion here, but because before today, I never won against him," Musetti told reporters.
"It was probably one of the toughest challenges that I've faced in my career so far.
"Regarding the match of tomorrow, I think there is no favourite.
"Tomorrow we'll gonna see who is the favourite one on the court, and when we will shake hands, there's gonna be a winner," the world number 16 added. At the time of filing this report Musetti and de Minaur were 1-6, 6-4, 5-5, tied in the third set of their semifinal vying to book place against Alcaraz.
Tsitsipas missed out on defending his title having won in 2021, 2022 and last year.
"It's difficult to accept," Tsitsipas said.
"I felt I had every reason to try and win. It is definitely heartbreaking," he added.
Earlier, De Minaur produced a ruthless performance to dismantle an out-of-sorts Grigor Dimitrov 6-0, 6-0 in just 45 minutes, with the match finishing to a backdrop of boos from the crowd.
Dimitrov mustered just one winner in total, made 23 unforced errors and won only five points in the second set. AFP
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