Carlos Alcaraz survives scare to beat Arthur Fils in three-set quarter-final thriller at ATP Monte Carlo ahead of French Open - 'I've missed clay'

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Carlos Alcaraz roared back from a set and three break points down to defeat Arthur Fils and move into the last four of the Monte-Carlo Masters for the first time, reaching the 10th Masters 1000 semi-final of his career. Alcaraz, the second seed in Monaco, needed two hours and 26 minutes to dispatch the young, spirited Frenchman, but eventually came through 4-6 7-5 6-3.

Carlos Alcaraz, Monte Carlo 2025

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Carlos Alcaraz showed great character to fight back from a set and three break points down to beat Arthur Fils in the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters.

The Spaniard, the second seed in Monaco, progressed into the last four in two hours and 26 minutes in a marathon encounter, coming through 4-6 7-5 6-3 on Court Rainier III.

The world No. 3 saved himself from the jaws of defeat multiple times, pulling out all the stops - and trick shots - that he needed to dig himself out of the hole that his first-set errors had plunged him into.

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Fils was on top form in the early exchanges, taking full advantage of Alcaraz's sloppy mistakes, and found himself up three break points at 5-5 in the second set, with the finishing line - and the biggest win of his career - in sight.

However, Alcaraz's experience shone through, as he exhibited superb resilience to fight off the Frenchman's pressure, with Fils buoyed by the home support.

Alcaraz, the four-time Grand Slam champion, was down a break in the decider too, but said afterwards that he was patiently "waiting for his chances", knowing that Fils' inexperience on the big stage would show at some point.

Inevitably, it did, with the world No. 15, who has been in superb form this year to shoot up the rankings, smashing his racquet and needing to throw it in the bin when he was broken in the final set, in what proved to be the penultimate game of the contest.

"I wanted to stay strong and waited for my chances," a relieved Alcaraz said afterwards.

"He started well in the first set, and there were some mistakes from my side. His level is high right now. He puts a lot of pressure on his opponents. In some moments, he made a few mistakes that I made the most of, free points, waited for my chances and taking them.

"In the second set, I saved break points and took the only break point that I had in that set. In the third, when I was a break down, I tried to keep going, play aggressively, stay strong mentally and physically, and wait for my chances."

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The Spaniard played some sublime drop shots throughout the affair, and smiled as he revealed how he had "missed the clay".

"On clay, it’s easier to play the drop shot," Alcaraz explained.

"There’s a whip that I use a lot, and in matches like this, where I won every drop shot that I play, gives me confidence to keep hitting them more."

The reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion is set to face his compatriot, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, in the semi-finals, with the unseeded Spaniard fresh off beating Alexei Popyrin in one of the other quarter-finals, to follow up his shock victory over fifth seed Jack Draper on Thursday.

On the other side of the draw, Grigor Dimitrov takes on Alex de Minaur, while Lorenzo Musetti faces Stefanos Tsitsipas, who will be coached by Novak Djokovic's former coach Goran Ivanisevic following the conclusion of the clay-court campaign.

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