From 11am, the atmosphere was electric on the Court des Princes for Arthur Rinderknecht’s (ATP 27) opening match. Cheered on by the crowd, the Frenchman won his battle (7-5 6-2) against Karen Khachanov. “It was a great match,” said Arthur Rinderknecht. “My first on clay this season. You never really know how it’s going to go. Especially against Karen, who’s always played well on clay. So it’s very positive.”
Meanwhile on Court Rainier III, the 13th seed Andrey Rublev played through discomfort to defeat Nuno Borges 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. “Today was a mental victory for me because I thought I was done,” Rublev said. “But I just told myself, ‘Let’s trust’… and that helped me a lot. In the third set I started to feel better and play better and I was able to win the match.” The 2023 Monte-Carlo champion next faces Zizou Bergs.
Three-time winner Stefanos Tsitsipas did not manage to make it to the second round of his favorite tournament. The Greek was nowhere to be seen against the No. 16 seed, Francisco Cerundolo. The Argentine won 7-5, 6-4 after a match marred by numerous unforced errors from both players. Cerundolo took advantage of Tsitsipas’ 38 unforced errors to claim his 50th match win at ATP Masters 1000 level and book a second-round meeting with Czech Tomas Machac, a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 winner over Daniel Altmaier.
The 2014 Monte-Carlo champion Stan Wawrinka was making his 16th and final appearance at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. A last dance that ended with a spirited 7-5, 7-5 defeat to Argentine Sebastian Baez Monday.
The 41-year-old Swiss, who had been hoping to set up a first-time meeting with World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the second round, rallied from the brink of defeat at 1-5 in the second set to claw back two breaks and level at 5-all.
Before stepping out the Court Rainier III for the last time, the 2014 champion was treated to a touching tribute. “I thank the crowd for their support. They are the reason I am still here today to experience such emotions. My victory here in 2014 in the final against Roger Federer remains one of the fondest memories of my career,” said Wawrinka before posing alongside Melanie Antoinette de Massy, President of the Monegasque Tennis Federation and the Monte-Carlo Country Club, David Massey, Director of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, and Chris Kermode, Tournament Advisor.
