Some fine tennis action was on display in Monte-Carlo on Wednesday. The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the elimination of the in-form Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard entered Monte-Carlo with high expectations after his victory in Miami. However, he lost to Sebastian Korda in a thrilling second-round contest.
The likes of Felix Auger-Aliassime and Cameron Norrie also suffered exits in the second round at the hands of Lorenzo Musetti and Albert Ramos-Vinolas respectively.
Second seed Alexander Zverev and fourth seed Casper Ruud booked their spots in the third round of the tournament with wins over Federico Delbonis and Holger Rune respectively. Fifth seed Andrey Rublev also reached the last 16 after surviving a scare from Alex de Minaur.
Here are the major results from Day 4 of the Monte-Carlo Masters:
Korda stuns Alcaraz
Korda and Alcaraz played out an enthralling encounter, with the American coming out victorious. The first set went to a tie-break and Korda won it 7-2. Alcaraz bounced back and took the second set in a tie-break.
Alcaraz broke early in the decider to take control of the match, but Korda bounced back and broke twice to seal the win.
Zverev beats Delbonis in straight sets
Second seed Alexander Zverev advanced to the third round of the competition with a win over Federico Delbonis. The German started the match well and took the opening set 6-1.
Delbonis started the second set by breaking Zverev. However, the World No. 3 broke back immediately and had a few match points at 5-4. Delbonis saved them but Zverev eventually won the second set 7-5 to advance.
Ruud battles past Rune
Fourth seed Casper Ruud booked his place in the last 16 by beating Denmark's Holger Rune in the battle of the Scandinavians.
Neither player dropped serve in the first set, with Ruud eventually winning the tie-break. The two exchanged several breaks in the second set, with the Norwegian going 6-5 up. He then held serve to win the match and reach the last 16, where he'll face Grigor Dimitrov.
Rublev overcomes De Minaur in three sets
Fifth seed Andrey Rublev beat Alex de Minaur for the first time in three meetings. The Australian started strongly and took the first set 6-2. However, Rublev fought back and won the second 6-1.
The Russian held off a spirited late fightback from De Minaur to take the third set 6-4 and reach the third round in Monte-Carlo. He will lock horns with Jannik Sinner next.
Monte Carlo Masters 2022 Day 4 results at a glance
Men's Singles (second round):
David Goffin def. Dan Evans 7-6(5), 6-2
Laslo Djere def. (16) Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-4
Sebastian Korda def. (8) Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 6-3
Albert Ramos-Vinolas def. (7) Cameron Norrie 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
(11) Hubert Hurkacz def. Pedro Martinez 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
(4) Casper Ruud def. (Q) Holger Rune 7-6(5), 7-5
(10) Taylor Fritz def. Marin Cilic 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
(13) Pablo Carreno Busta def. Alexander Bublik 4-6, 7-6(3), 4-3(ret'd)
(12) Diego Schwartzman def. Marton Fucsovics 6-0, 7-6(4)
(9) Jannik Sinner def. (Q) Emil Ruusuvuori 7-5, 6-3
Lorenzo Musetti def. (6) Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 7-6(2)
(5) Andrey Rublev def. Alex de Minaur 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
(2) Alexander Zverev def. Federico Delbonis 6-1, 7-5
Men's doubles (second round)
(2) Nikola Mektic / Mate Pavic def. Stefanos Tsitsipas / Petros Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-3
(5) Tim Puetz / Michael Venus def. Aslan Karatsev / John Peers 4-6, 6-4, 10-4
(6) Juan Sebastian Cabal / Robert Farah def. Santiago Gonzalez / Andres Molteni 6-2, 6-4