Alexander Zverev kept his Monte Carlo Masters campaign alive on Friday, grinding out a hard-fought three-set victory over Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca to book his place in the semi-finals. The world number three prevailed 7-5, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3 in a match that tested his resilience more than the scoreline suggests.
Fonseca, just 19 years old and ranked 40th in the world, was making his debut in a Masters quarter-final and certainly didn’t look out of place. The young Brazilian brought serious firepower and forced Zverev to work for every point across a contest that had plenty of momentum swings and nervy moments throughout.
Zverev broke in the 11th game of the opening set and then closed it out to love on serve — a clean, composed finish that suggested he was firmly in control. He carried that momentum into the second set, breaking early to move to a 3-1 lead before things started to unravel slightly.
Fonseca dug deep and rattled off four consecutive games to flip the script and put himself in position to serve out the set. He couldn’t convert, but the resilience he showed was a reminder of why this teenager is being watched closely on tour.
Alexander Zverev Advances to Monte Carlo Masters Semi-Finals in Three-Set Battle
The tie-break belonged entirely to Fonseca, who produced a string of powerful groundstrokes to level the match and send it to a decider. It was the kind of tennis that had the Monte Carlo crowd on edge and gave the young Brazilian genuine belief heading into the third set.
But Zverev steadied himself in the way that top players do. He broke in the sixth game of the deciding set and served out the match with authority, advancing to the semi-finals for the third time in his career at this event and claiming his third straight Masters 1000 semi-final of 2025.
The German’s target is clear — his first ATP title since winning in Munich exactly a year ago. Monte Carlo presents a significant opportunity, and a win here would also see him complete a career sweep of the clay Masters 1000 titles, having already claimed the Italian Open and Madrid Open twice each.
Standing between Zverev and a final spot is a potential rematch with Jannik Sinner, who plays later in the day alongside Felix Auger-Aliassime for the other semi-final berth. Sinner has beaten Zverev in seven consecutive meetings, which is a record that looms large over any potential encounter.
Interestingly, despite Sinner’s dominance over Zverev on a personal level, the world number one has never won a Masters title on clay — a fact that keeps this semi-final matchup intriguing on multiple levels.
Elsewhere in the Monte Carlo draw on Friday, world number one and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz faces Alexander Bublik in what promises to be one of the day’s standout matches. Alex de Minaur also takes to the court against Valentin Vacherot as the quarter-final slate wraps up.
The Monte Carlo Masters continues to deliver high-quality clay-court tennis as the European swing builds towards Roland-Garros. For Zverev, who has been chasing a major clay title to sit alongside his 2021 US Open, this run at Monte Carlo feels meaningful — and another deep run here could signal that his form on the surface is peaking at exactly the right time.