"I'm going to lose the number one spot" - Carlos Alcaraz admits his defence of the top ranking spot is in danger this week at the Monte-Carlo Masters with Jannik Sinner chasing him down.
Sinner made an impressive return to European clay by winning an 18th consecutive match - and also making it 36 successive sets - at Masters 1000 level with an opening victory.
Having become the first player to complete the 'Sunshine Double' of Indian Wells and Miami Open without dropping a set, the 24-year-old two-time semi-finalist in Monaco carried that momentum on to clay with a confident 6-3 6-0 win over Ugo Humbert in 61 minutes.
Sinner continued his pursuit of a first Masters 1000 crown on clay in fine style and the speed with which he dispatched Humbert would likely have impressed Usain Bolt, the iconic Olympic sprint star who was watching on from the stands.
"It was a good performance from my side," the Italian said. "You have to change your game style a little bit, how you approach certain situations.
"The first tournament [on clay] is never easy. I come here with good feelings but, at the same time, not many expectations."
Alcaraz took just 69 minutes to seal a 6-1 6-3 opening-round win against Sebastian Baez for his 14th consecutive win on clay, equalling his longest win streak on the surface which he set between Barcelona, Madrid and the French Open in 2022.
"It's been a really good start to the tournament for me," said Alcaraz. "To be honest, I surprised myself with the level. I thought I was going to play a little bit worse, I would say, but I'm just happy with everything I've done today.
"Maybe a couple of things I didn't do well in the second set. I let him get into the match, but overall, I'm just happy to play matches again on clay."
This week in Monte-Carlo, Alcaraz is also competing with the knowledge that Sinner has the chance to replace him as world No 1 next Monday.
"I'm going to lose No 1 in the world [at some point]. I don't know if it is going to be at this tournament or [another] one," said Alcaraz.
"I'm defending a bunch of points that are going to be really difficult to defend. Even if I defend them, Jannik is going to add some points.
"I will just try to play my best and let's see what happens, but for me the No 1 spot is not in my mind right now. I'm just trying to feel the best way on clay courts and let's see how the clay swing goes."
British No 1 Cameron Norrie suffered a second-round exit at the Monte Carlo Masters following a three-set defeat to fifth seed Alex De Minaur.
After dropping a tight opening set on a tie-break, Norrie won five games in a row en route to forcing a decider.
But Australian De Minaur broke serve twice at the start of the final set before progressing 7-6 (5) 2-6 6-2 to set up a last-16 meeting with either 10th seed Flavio Cobolli or Belgian qualifier Alexander Blockx.
Following first-round byes, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz opened their clay-court seasons with commanding last-32 victories as they continue to tussle for the world number one spot.
Sinner defeated Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-3 6-0 in just 64 minutes, while defending champion Alcaraz overcame Argentina's Sebastian Baez 6-1 6-3.
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