Carlos Alcalaz defeated injured Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 to win the Monte Carlo Final Sunday to secure his sixth Masters 1000 career title.
Alcaraz cruised to his first Monte Carlo Trophy and 18th Tour-level victory. The 21-year-old Spaniard reaches second place in the world rankings following his victory in Monaco, passing Alexander Zverev, who lost in the second round.
Musetti began to show signs of a right leg injury in the third set and was treated while decreasing at 3-0. The 23-year-old Italian, who played in his first Master 1000 Final, struggled to move Alcaraz towards the end of the match.
“This is not the way I want to win a match. I really feel sorry for him,” Alkaraz said. “I’m so happy to win my first Monte Carlo. It was a really tough week with so many difficult situations. I’m really proud that I’ve dealt with everything.”
Alcaraz has struggled at times this year, suffering an open-round defeat to David Goffin of Miami.
It was Alcaraz’s third consecutive clay court final after winning the French Open at last year’s Parisilympics and finishing with a silver medal.
Alcaraz was playing in the 23rd Tour-level final. He needed six match points to clear his Spanish compatriot Alejandro Davidevich Fokina 7-6 (2), 6-4 in Saturday’s semi-finals.
Musetti, who had only two tour-level titles in 2022, beat Alkaraz’s serve twice to win his first set, but Alkaraz came back strong with two breaks of his own, second in the match. Musetti never competed in decision-makers.
Last year, Musetti, a 13th-placed bronze medalist in Paris, beat Alex De Minaur 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the semi-finals. He kicked out defending champion Stefanos Titzpas in the quarter-finals.
Heavy rain was predicted in the evening, so the final moved three hours ago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.