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The 2024 Rolex Monte Carlo Masters semi-final lineup is set. Stefanos Tstisipas will face Jannik Sinner, while Novak Djokovic will face Casper Ruud for a place in Sunday’s final.
Tsitsipas was the first man to progress, coming through the most one-sided match of the day with a 6-4 6-2 win over Karen Khachanov.
Sinner and Rune then went toe to toe in the most watchable tennis of the day, with the Italian prevailing in three sets.
Novak Djokovic then progressed to a record 77th Masters 1000 semi-final with a “winning ugly” type performance against Alex de Minaur before Casper Ruud completed the semi-final quartet with a three-set victory over Ugo Humbert.
You can see a recap, match stats and highlights from all four quarterfinals below.
Day Six 2024 Monte Carlo Masters Quarter Final Results
| Winner | Loser | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|
| Novak Djokovic (1) | Alex de Minaur (11) | 7-5 6-4 |
| Jannik Sinner (2) | Holger Rune (7) | 6-4 6-7 (6) 6-3 |
| Casper Ruud (8) | Ugo Humber (14) | 6-3 4-6 6-1 |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas (12) | Karen Khachanov (15) | 6-4 6-2 |
Tsitsipas Takes Out Khachanov
Monte Carlo continues to be a happy place for Stefanos Tsitsipas, who eased to a 6-4 6-2 win over Karen Khachanov in the first quarterfinal of the day on Friday.
The Greek has had a relatively poor start to the year, but on clay, he’s a different beast, and after the pair exchanged breaks in the opening two games, he took control, breaking again and maintaining it to take the opener 6-4.
From there, it was one-way traffic, and like his compatriot Medvedev yesterday, Khachanov, who had the trainer on to look at his leg, cut a frustrated figure. He threw his racket into the floor and fired a ball high into the sky after dropping serve at 2-2 and didn’t win another game in the match.
I would lie if I said it doesn’t bring good memories stepping out on this court. It’s something that I attribute some of my performances here over time to. I come back here, and I relive those memories of the past. It gives me good feelings when I can play in front of crowds like this and try and strive for excellence with my game.
My returns were effective. I was generating a lot of pace and gained good momentum at some point. He seemed good and well composed in his tennis. He wasn’t giving away too many unforced errors and seemed pretty calm from behind the baseline. I tried to do my part, which was to press as much as I could and not rush myself into the rallies.
I was trying to predict and read certain things on the court and it worked out pretty well. I took my time once again to understand what works and what doesn’t and today I was persistent in my efforts to walk away with something good.Tsitsipas on his success in Monte Carlo.
Match Stats
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | Karen Khachanov | |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 7 | 1 |
| Double Faults | 3 | 1 |
| 1st Serve Percentage | 62% | 67% |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 84% (27/32) | 48% (16/33) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 45% (9/20) | 69% (11/16) |
| Break Points Saved | 67% (2/3) | 50% (4/8) |
| 1st Return Points Won | 52% (17/33) | 16% (5/32) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 31% (5/16) | 55% (11/20) |
| Break Points Converted | 50% (4/8) | 33% (1/3) |
| Winners | 20 | 10 |
| Unforced Errors | 8 | 8 |
| Net Points Won | 62% (8/13) | 44% (4/9) |
| Max Points In Row | 12 | 5 |
| Service Points Won | 69% (36/52) | 55% (27/49) |
| Return Points Won | 45% (22/49) | 31% (16/52) |
| Total Points Won | 57% (58/101) | 43% (43/101) |
| Max Games In Row | 5 | 1 |
| Service Games Won | 89% (8/9) | 56% (5/9) |
| Return Games Won | 44% (4/9) | 11% (1/9) |
| Total Games Won | 67% (12/18) | 33% (6/18) |
Highlights
Sinner Sees Off Rune
Holger Rune spent over four hours on court yesterday, playing two singles matches, so it was a surprise to see him scheduled for the day’s second match.
This put him at a disadvantage against the so far untested Jannik Sinner. Still, despite the evident fatigue, he battled hard throughout, pushing the Italian before succumbing to a 4-6 7-6(6) 6-3 loss.
Sinner is into his second straight Monte Carlo semi-final and could have made life easier for himself but missed six break points and two match points in the second set before finally prevailing in 2 hours and 41 minutes.
Overall, it was a very close match. Rune started the better of the two, missing a breakpoint at 4-4 in the first set and then dropping his next game to create an uphill task.
Sinner had the better of the play in the second set, having 0-40 at 2-2 and 5-5, but he failed to convert and then missed two match points at 6-4 in the breaker only to see Rune reel off four points in a row to level.
The decider seemed to be going Rune’s way when he fashioned break point at 2-2 30/40, but Sinner steadied the ship, winning 12 of the following 15 points to progress.
It took a lot to win this match. Playing against him is never easy, especially on this occasion, so I’m very happy I won today but mostly about the level I gave. I raised it today a little bit. It was more physical; there were more rallies today. My general feelings were better, so I’m very excited about tomorrow’s match. Sinner on his win over Rune.
Rune now slips to 12 in the rankings and also leaves the Principality with one of the stupidest code violations I’ve seen:
Match Stats
| Holger Rune | Jannik Sinner | |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 6 | 5 |
| Double Faults | 5 | 2 |
| 1st Serve Percentage | 53% | 59% |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 82% (41/50) | 87% (46/53) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 49% (22/45) | 68% (25/37) |
| Break Points Saved | 75% (6/8) | 100% (2/2) |
| 1st Return Points Won | 13% (7/53) | 18% (9/50) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 32% (12/37) | 51% (23/45) |
| Break Points Converted | 0% (0/2) | 25% (2/8) |
| Winners | 33 | 28 |
| Unforced Errors | 23 | 11 |
| Net Points Won | 72% (21/29) | 58% (11/19) |
| Max Points In Row | 6 | 7 |
| Service Points Won | 66% (63/95) | 79% (71/90) |
| Return Points Won | 21% (19/90) | 34% (32/95) |
| Total Points Won | 44% (82/185) | 56% (103/185) |
| Max Games In Row | 1 | 3 |
| Service Games Won | 87% (13/15) | 100% (16/16) |
| Return Games Won | 0% (0/16) | 13% (2/15) |
| Total Games Won | 42% (13/31) | 58% (18/31) |
Highlights
Djokovic Battles Past De Minaur
Low quality isn’t something you usually associate with Novak Djokovic, but his quarterfinal match with Alex de Minaur wasn’t one for the highlight reel, as both men struggled to play their best tennis.
Despite both players’ numerous unforced errors and serve breaks, the Serb came through 7-5, 6-4 in a match that lasted just over two hours.
Djokovic is into his first semi-final in Monte Carlo since 2015 and a win at the event would mean he’s won all nine Masters 1000 tournaments for the third time, a significant feat.
Can he do it? Based on today, he’d need to up his level, and he’s looked to be struggling with the conditions so far, looking leggy and breathless in his last two matches. But we’ve seen that many times, only for him to find something extra when it matters.
I am very happy to be back in the semis. It has been a while. I love this tournament. I love this club as well, I have been training at this club for many years. The past seven or eight years have been tough for me to win seven or eight matches consecutively, but here we are, another semis. Djokovic on finally finding some wins in Monte Carlo.
Match Stats
| Novak Djokovic | Alex de Minaur | |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 2 | 3 |
| Double Faults | 1 | 4 |
| 1st Serve Percentage | 66% | 42% |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 64% (27/42) | 60% (18/30) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 59% (13/22) | 49% (20/41) |
| Break Points Saved | 57% (4/7) | 55% (6/11) |
| 1st Return Points Won | 40% (12/30) | 36% (15/42) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 51% (21/41) | 41% (9/22) |
| Break Points Converted | 45% (5/11) | 43% (3/7) |
| Winners | 12 | 17 |
| Unforced Errors | 18 | 26 |
| Net Points Won | 71% (12/17) | 50% (8/16) |
| Max Points In Row | 5 | 5 |
| Service Points Won | 63% (40/64) | 54% (38/71) |
| Return Points Won | 46% (33/71) | 38% (24/64) |
| Total Points Won | 54% (73/135) | 46% (62/135) |
| Max Games In Row | 4 | 2 |
| Service Games Won | 73% (8/11) | 55% (6/11) |
| Return Games Won | 45% (5/11) | 27% (3/11) |
| Total Games Won | 59% (13/22) | 41% (9/22) |
Highlights
Ruud Humbles Humbert
In the final quarterfinal match of the day, Casper Ruud played some fine clay court tennis to beat Ugo Humbert 3–6, 6–4, 1–6 in 2 hours and 6 minutes.
Ruud made the last eight with an impressive win over Hubert Hurkacz, and he started the match strongly, leading by a set and a break.
However, Humbert can put his foot on the gas, and when his level rose thanks to his aggressive play and ability to create winners, especially with his backhand, Ruud experienced a downturn in the second set.
The third saw the Norwegian reassert himself. Casper’s forehand is one of the most solid shots on a clay court, and he was able to move up 5-1 and fend off Humbert in the last game to progress.
It was tough. It was back-and-forth, back-and-forth. I started great and was up 6-3, 2-0 after 50 minutes. I was playing really good tennis and then kind of stumbled a bit. I think I lost maybe 10 points in a row at one point there, so I had to try and stop the bleeding. I wasn’t able to in the second set, but third set I was a bit fortunate I got the break early and then saved a few break points, God knows how, but luckily they landed inside the lines. It’s tough, Ugo is playing with confidence. Maybe he is not the guy you would think of as a typical clay-court player, but he plays so aggressively, returns well, and plays deep. As long as you have a lot of depth on clay, you are doing a lot of damage. In the second set, he was playing fantastic. With his backhand, he can get winners down-the-line, cross and take it early. It stressed me, so very happy I was able to come through. Ruud on his win over Humbert.
Match Stats
| Ugo Humbert | Casper Ruud | |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 1 | 4 |
| Double Faults | 2 | 4 |
| 1st Serve Percentage | 70% | 58% |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 56% (31/55) | 74% (34/46) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 54% (13/24) | 55% (18/33) |
| Break Points Saved | 38% (3/8) | 71% (5/7) |
| 1st Return Points Won | 26% (12/46) | 44% (24/55) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 45% (15/33) | 46% (11/24) |
| Break Points Converted | 29% (2/7) | 63% (5/8) |
| Winners | 28 | 24 |
| Unforced Errors | 18 | 12 |
| Net Points Won | 69% (11/16) | 91% (10/11) |
| Max Points In Row | 10 | 8 |
| Service Points Won | 56% (44/79) | 65% (51/78) |
| Return Points Won | 35% (27/78) | 44% (35/79) |
| Total Points Won | 45% (71/157) | 55% (86/157) |
| Max Games In Row | 4 | 5 |
| Service Games Won | 62% (8/13) | 85% (11/13) |
| Return Games Won | 15% (2/13) | 38% (5/13) |
| Total Games Won | 38% (10/26) | 62% (16/26) |
Highlights
Coming soon.
Monte Carlo Masters 2024 Semi-Final Matches
- Novak Djokovic (1) vs Casper Ruud (8)
- Stefanos Tsitsipas (12) vs Jannik Sinner (2)
Who do you think will make the final?
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