Monaco – Defending French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz started his clay season by defeating Francisco Cerundolo 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 in the second round Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.
The second seed Alcaraz brought a staggering loss to Belgian veteran David Goffin in his first match at the Miami Open last month.
It seemed possible when Cerundolo, who ranked 22, got the first set, but Alcaraz dominated the rest of the game and converted five of his seven breakout points in the second and third sets.
Alcaraz is seeking a second title in 2025 and starts his clay game with a clay game before starting next month with Roland Garros.
Later Wednesday, Novak Djokovic faces Alejandro Tabilo, who will start his latest bid to win his 100th professional title, who lost to the 24-time Grand Slam title at the Italian Open last year.
Djokovic recently lost to Jakub Mensik next month, shortly before he started the French Open on May 25.
Lorenzo Musetti was the 13th seed, defeating Jiri Lehecka 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 to play the final 16 games with fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini, who beat top seed Alexander Zverev on Tuesday.
Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils were eliminated by Daniel Altmaier and Seventh Seed Andrey Rublev, respectively.
Monte Carlo Masters is the ATP Tour’s clay game of the year.
