Jannik Sinner came from a set down to light up 2021 finalist Andrey Rublev 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 in the third round at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Sinner improves to 2-0 against Rublev on the clay, and 2-1 overall. The Italian is now two wins from his 100th.

“It is for me very, very special playing here,” said Sinner who is 19-3 this year. “Obviously many, many Italians [in the] crowd. It’s incredible.

“It was tough. I tried to play every point,” he said. “I know him quite well. He plays quite a lot with the forehand. I tried to move him a little bit.”

Into his first Monte Carlo quarters and second straight at a Masters, Sinner will now face former semifinalist Alexander Zverev. After a rough first three months, Zverev is improving this week and today he eased past Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2, 7-5, coming from a break down in the second.

“For the second clay court match of the season, I can’t complain too much,” Zverev. “I have lost focus a little bit in the second set, but at the end of the day, he’s somebody that can really play. I’m happy with a two-set win.”

Miami finalist Casper Ruud fell early going down to Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 7-5. He’ll now face Hubert Hurkacz who ousted former finalist Albert Ramos Vinolas in straights.

Stefanos Tsitsipas kept rolling in his title defense knocking out Laslo Djere 7-5, 7-6(1).

“I knew I had to be alert,” Tsitsipas said on court. “He is someone who competes very well on clay. He stays consistent and puts a lot of balls back and I really had to work hard for this win. It was important to get a good dynamic start in the tie-break and stay in rallies and take my chances when they appeared.”

Diego Schwartzman will be next for the Greek. The Argentine rallied to deny 20-year-old Lorenzo Musetti 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Sebastian Korda couldn’t back up his big win over Carlos Alcaraz. Korda went down to his countryman Taylor Fritz 7-6(4), 7-5. Fritz now meets Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in what was projected to be a Novak Djokovic-Carlos Alcaraz quarter!

FRIDAY MONTE CARLO SCHEDULE
COURT RAINIER III start 11:00 a.m.
A. Davidovich Fokina (ESP) vs. [10] T. Fritz (USA)
G. Dimitrov (BUL) vs. [11] H. Hurkacz (POL)
[9] J. Sinner (ITA) vs. [2] A. Zverev (GER)
[12] D. Schwartzman ARG) vs. [3] S. Tsitsipas (GRE)