On a radiant afternoon in Monte Carlo, April 9, 2025, the clay courts of the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters bore witness to a riveting clash between Carlos Alcaraz, the 21-year-old Spanish superstar, and Francisco Cerundolo, the tenacious Argentine ranked No. 22 in the world. What began as a shaky debut on the red dirt for Alcaraz transformed into a masterclass of resilience, as he rallied from a set down to secure a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory in the second round. It was his first-ever win at this prestigious tournament, a milestone that had eluded him in his lone prior appearance in 2022. But the triumph didn’t come without a candid admission from the world No. 3, who laid bare the critical error that nearly derailed him early on.
The match started with a jolt for Alcaraz, who entered the clay season as the defending French Open champion and a favorite to dominate the surface he’s long adored. Facing Cerundolo—whose 17 match wins in 2025 lead the ATP Tour—the Spaniard found himself on the back foot. “I didn’t start well. I made a lot of mistakes and I let him play inside the court, dominating the points,” Alcaraz confessed after the match, his voice tinged with the frustration of a player who knows his potential but saw it slip away in the opening frame. Cerundolo, a clay-court specialist with a knack for grinding out rallies, seized the first set 6-3, breaking Alcaraz twice and capitalizing on the Spaniard’s uncharacteristic errors. For a moment, it seemed the Argentine might pull off a third career upset over a top-tier opponent, having already toppled Alexander Zverev earlier this year.
But Alcaraz, whose career has been defined by adaptability, refused to let the script end there. The turning point came in the second set’s opening game, where he faced two break points that could have buried him deeper. Holding serve with a steely resolve, he ignited a spark that quickly became a wildfire. “After the first set, I knew I had to do something else, play more aggressively, and play my own tennis: drop shots, going to the net, and more aggression,” he explained, detailing the tactical shift that flipped the match on its head. Moving closer to the baseline, he increased his first-serve return success by a staggering 44 percent, wresting control from Cerundolo and dictating the pace with his signature flair. The result? A 6-0 demolition in the second set, followed by a 6-1 rout in the third, as he won 12 of the final 13 games.
This wasn’t just a victory—it was a statement. Alcaraz, who hadn’t played a competitive clay match since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Paris Olympic final the previous year, rediscovered the rhythm that’s carried him to four Grand Slam titles. His drop shots danced tantalizingly out of Cerundolo’s reach, his net play exuded confidence, and his forehand roared back to life, including a rasping winner on the run that left the crowd gasping. “I missed clay,” he scrawled on the camera lens post-match, a love letter to the surface where he’s won 13 of his last 14 contests. For Alcaraz, this win erased the sting of recent setbacks—an early Miami Open exit to David Goffin and a semifinal loss to Jack Draper at Indian Wells—proving he’s still a force to be reckoned with as he builds toward defending his Roland Garros crown.
Cerundolo, meanwhile, couldn’t sustain the momentum from his first-set brilliance. Fresh off a 6-0, 6-3 thrashing of Fabio Fognini in the opening round, he’d hoped to leverage his clay-court pedigree against Alcaraz, whom he’d beaten on the surface in a 2019 Futures event. “Maybe it will be third time lucky,” he’d mused before the match, referencing their 0-2 head-to-head record on tour. But Alcaraz’s mid-match awakening left little room for luck, as the Argentine’s resolve crumbled under the Spaniard’s relentless pressure.
Looking ahead, Alcaraz now faces German qualifier Daniel Altmaier in the third round, a player he dispatched 6-1, 7-6 in a Challenger event five years ago. With no points to defend from last year’s Monte Carlo absence due to injury, every win here is a chance to climb closer to the No. 1 ranking currently held by the suspended Jannik Sinner. For the young Spaniard, the clay season is more than a campaign—it’s a homecoming. “The most important change was the return; I tried to return closer to the line and push him,” he said, a blueprint for the aggression he’ll carry forward. As the Mediterranean sun dipped below the horizon, Alcaraz walked off the court not just a victor, but a student of his own game, wiser for the mistake he’d owned and overcome.