Monte-Carlo Masters 2024 Draw: Carlos Alcaraz's projected path to title ft. potential final showdown with Jannik Sinner

World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz will be eyeing to capture his second title of the season as he prepares to begin his campaign at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Alcaraz started the year with a quarterfinal finish at the Australian Open. His South American clay swing wasn't as productive this time as he concluded it without a title. He returned to form with a successful title defense at the Indian Wells Masters but was knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open.

This will be Alcaraz's second appearance at the Monte-Carlo Masters. He made his debut here back in 2022 and lost to Sebastian Korda in the second round in three sets.

Alcaraz has received a direct bye into the second round as the third seed. Here's a look at the players he'll need to defeat to claim his maiden title in Monte Carlo:

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Possible R2 opponent - Felix Auger-Aliassime

Carlos Alcaraz will begin his campaign at the Monte-Carlo Masters against Auger-Aliassime. While the Canadian leads 3-2 in the head-to-head, the Spaniard has won their last two matches. This will be their first meeting on clay.

The two recently faced off at the Indian Wells Masters and Alcaraz scored a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 win. Auger-Aliassime has a rather average 8-8 record this year and has a better record on hardcourts compared to clay. Unless he raises his level quickly, it's unlikely that the Canadian will pose a threat in this round.

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Possible R3 opponent - Ugo Humbert

Ugo Humbert at the 2024 Australian Open.

Humbert has won a couple of titles this year and has compiled a 15-5 record. However, he failed to string together consecutive wins in a row in his past two tournaments. The Frenchman is also quite dreadful on clay and has just nine career wins on the surface against 23 losses.

Humbert and Alcaraz have never faced off before but if they do meet here, the latter will be favored to triumph. Zhang Zhizhen is another player that the Spaniard could be up against in the third round.

However, Zhang has won just two of his last eight matches and given his current form, getting the better of Alcaraz seems like a tall order for him.

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Possible QF opponent - Casper Ruud/Hubert Hurkacz

Carlos Alcaraz and Capser Ruud at the 2022 US Open.

Either Ruud or Hurkacz could lie in wait for Alcaraz in the quarterfinals. The Norwegian has played at a pretty good level this year with an 18-5 record. However, the Spaniard has a 4-0 winning record in this rivalry.

Hurkacz has been in good form as well this season and has a 17-8 win-loss record. While he has lost all three of his matches against Alcaraz, he did manage to make them quite competitive. However, the Spaniard will have a definitive edge considering this match will be on clay.

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Possible SF opponent - Novak Djokovic

The most highly anticipated match-up of the tournament will be the semifinal duel between Alcaraz and Djokovic. The Serb hasn't been at his best this year, so the 20-year-old will fancy his odds of victory.

They crossed paths four times last year and Alcaraz lost his last two matches against Djokovic, which took place at the ATP Finals and the Cincinnati Masters. He defeated his older rival in the Wimbledon final but lost to him in the French Open semifinals before that.

Alcaraz did win their other encounter on clay, which was at the 2022 Madrid Open. Despite Djokovic's slow start to the season, it would be unwise to count him out. He has been in this position before only to start racking up wins and titles out of nowhere.

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Possible Final opponent - Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the 2022 US Open.

Alcaraz was the leading next-gen star with his achievements but Sinner has caught up to him this year. The Italian won his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and backed up the win with trophies in Rotterdam and Miami.

Sinner has a 22-1 record for the year, with Alcaraz being the only player to defeat him. The two battled it out in the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters and the Spaniard rallied from a set down to score a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.

The head-to-head is currently tied at 4-4. Sinner won their only prior encounter on clay when he defeated Alcaraz to win the Croatia Open title back in 2022. The Italian is the more in-form player, so he'll have a slight advantage if they meet once again.

Should Sinner falter early on for some reason, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev are among the other contenders to reach the final. Alcaraz leads the Russian 4-2 in the head-to-head and recently defeated him to win the Indian Wells title.

Zverev leads Alcaraz by a slim margin of 5-4. The two have already duked it out twice this year and each of them won a match. The Spaniard had the last laugh during his Indian Wells run, while the German came out on top at the Australian Open.