Carlos Alcaraz admits what he is ‘ashamed’ about ahead of his first match at the Monte-Carlo Masters

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Carlos Alcaraz is primed and ready for the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he gets underway in round two.

Handed a bye in round one of the Monte-Carlo Masters, ATP number three Alcaraz faces the winner of Francisco Cerundolo and Fabio Fognini in round two.

Alcaraz thinks recent complaints about him are unfair, with the Spaniard having just lost his opener at the Miami Open.

That shock defeat to David Goffin came after the 21-year-old lost his Indian Wells semi-final with Jack Draper.

Draper did, of course, go on to lift the trophy, with the British number one overcoming Holger Rune in the final.

Carlos Alcaraz ‘ashamed’ about only playing Monte-Carlo Masters once

The ATP Tour now moves on from hard courts to clay, a surface on which Alcaraz has enjoyed huge success throughout his career so far.

He has, however, only been able to play in Monte-Carlo once, a situation that has disappointed the 21-year-old.

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“I’m excited about playing here, getting the experience, getting matches here, looking forward to get my first win here, that I haven’t yet,” he told Tennis TV.

“I think it’s a pretty beautiful club, pretty beautiful tournament, I’m a little bit ashamed that I’ve just played once. But I’m excited to play my second time here.”

Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas dominate Monte-Carlo Masters

It certainly hasn’t been the fault of Alcaraz that he has missed out on the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in recent times.

Admittedly he did lose his opener to Sebastian Korda in 2022, but injury then forced him out of the following two editions.

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Alcaraz can fly on clay in the 2025 season, particularly with the absence of his fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

The undisputed King of Clay retired in late 2024, with a record 11 Monte-Carlo Masters titles among his honours list.

Nadal’s successes include eight consecutive triumphs between 2005 and 2012, with a 2013 final loss also on his CV.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has, however, been the main man in Monaco in recent times, winning the event in three of the last four years.