Sinner and Alcaraz reunite at Monte Carlo after four years, fans hope for a showdown; Wang Xiyu returns and surpasses Sabalenka's record.

After the Monte Carlo Masters released its draw, the tennis world's '00s duo Sinner and Alcaraz instantly became hot topics again.

The current focus on Sinner and Alcaraz isn't just because they anchor the top and bottom halves of the draw, making people wonder if others can challenge them properly, but also relates to two other reasons!

The first reason is that Sinner and Alcaraz's participation this time is quite interesting!

Unlike other Masters events, Monte Carlo is one of the few non-mandatory tournaments. Especially after withdrawals by stars like Djokovic, Draper, Fritz, and Shelton, the presence of this '00s duo on the entry list is truly delightful.

Fans and netizens are pleased because the Monte Carlo Masters' star power hasn't been diminished by other top players' withdrawals; the tournament organizers are happy as ticket sales, popularity, and buzz have all increased.

However, one thing likely overlooked by many is that this year's Monte Carlo Masters marks the first time Sinner and Alcaraz have entered the same tournament together since 2022.

Prior to this, Sinner's best result at Monte Carlo was reaching the semifinals in 2024, while Alcaraz's best achievement was winning the title in 2025. In that final, the Spaniard faced Italian clay-court specialist Musetti. After losing the first set 3-6, he transformed into a dominant force starting from the second set, strongly reversing the match against the Italian to claim his first Monte Carlo Masters title.

Four years later, both players are simultaneously entering this non-mandatory Masters event for the first time. This not only intensifies the current battle for the men's world No.1 ranking at this tournament but also makes everyone eager to know whether the rivalry between Sinner and Alcaraz will be decided in Monte Carlo, or if this suspenseful advantage will be passed to the next event, allowing it to reap a wave of traffic and ticket sales?!

The second reason is that, given their current different mindsets—one defending the world No.1 ranking and the other striving to seize it—both are determined not to give each other an easy opportunity. Can they achieve their first meeting this new season, allowing fans and netizens to cheer loudly and fully enjoy the moment?

Unlike last year when the Sinner-Alcaraz clashes became the main theme in tennis, since the new season began this year, Sinner and Alcaraz have appeared in the same events but have not yet met in a final.

At the start of the year at the Australian Open, they were once expected to face off in their first AO final, adding suspense about whether Alcaraz could achieve the Grand Slam feat. However, Sinner unexpectedly stumbled in the semifinals against Djokovic. Unfortunately, after defeating the formidable Sinner, the Serbian天王 ultimately did not lift his 25th Grand Slam trophy at Melbourne Park, eventually paving the way for Alcaraz.

During the North American Sunshine Double, expectations remained high for Sinner and Alcaraz to meet in the finals, staging the first "Sinner-Alcaraz clash" of the new season. Yet, at these two Masters events, Alcaraz faltered: he was defeated by Medvedev in Indian Wells; in Miami, he exited even earlier, falling to Korda.

Now as they move to Monte Carlo, Sinner and Alcaraz each carry different missions. Driven by such strong motivations, will the first "Sinner-Alcaraz battle" of 2026 become reality? This adds another major highlight to this Masters event.

Currently, another matter drawing considerable attention involves Wang Xiyu!

Since returning from injury at the Ma'anshan Challenger, assessments of Wang Xiyu during this period vary: some say she's completely unstoppable, having met no real rivals; others praise her performance as堪比斗战胜佛, seemingly indestructible.

Currently, defeating players like Zhu Lin and Guo Hanyu—considered major and mid-level Chinese flowers—is effortless for her. Even against second- or third-tier Chinese players like Zheng Wushuang and Tian Fangran, she handles them easily. For them, not only is defeating Wang Xiyu extremely difficult, but managing to win more than three games against her would already be considered an excellent achievement.

Thanks to such impressive performances, when Wang Xiyu advanced to the semifinals at the Liu'an 100k event, attentive fans and netizens suddenly noticed that Wang Xiyu had inadvertently surpassed a record held by Sabalenka so far this season, moving ahead of the Belarusian's 12 consecutive wins with her own 13-win streak. Wang Xiyu achieved this in the shortest time, just over two weeks, demonstrating remarkable efficiency.

The difference is that Wang Xiyu achieved this feat at lower-level challenger events, while Sabalenka's streak occurred at a 1000-level tournament!（Source: Tennis Home Author: Moon River's Starry Sky）