Monte-Carlo Masters 2025 Day 5 Recap – Perfect Tennis

Day 5 at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters wrapped up the Round of 16, delivering eight matches that shaped the quarter-final lineup.

Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas led the charge, dispatching Daniel Altmaier and Nuno Borges with authority.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo Musetti showed his clay court prowess, ending Matteo Berrettini’s upset run in straight sets.

The day wasn’t without its twists. Alexei Popyrin stunned 4th seed Casper Ruud in a gritty 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 battle, while Alejandro Davidovich Fokina outlasted 5th seed Jack Draper in three tight sets.

Arthur Fils made waves too, cruising past 2023 champ Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3, proving his clay credentials in just over an hour.

Elsewhere, Alex de Minaur dismantled Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 6-2 with relentless precision, and Grigor Dimitrov weathered a three-set test against Alejandro Tabilo.

Here’s the full breakdown.

Day Five 2025 Monte Carlo Round of 16 Results

Winner
Loser
Scoreline

Lorenzo Musetti (13)
Matteo Berrettini
6-3 6-3

Stefanos Tstisipas (6)
Nuno Borges
6-1 6-1

Grigor Dimitrov (15)
Alejandro Tabilo
6-3 2-6 6-2

Alex de Minaur (8)
Daniil Medvedev (9)
6-2 6-2

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Jack Draper (5)
6-3 6-7(6) 6-4

Alexei Popyrin
Casper Ruud (4)
6-4 4-6 7-5

Arthur Fils (12)
Andrey Rublev (7)
6-2 6-3

Carlos Alcaraz (2)
Daniel Altmaier (Q)
6-3 6-1

Alcaraz Aces Altmaier

Carlos Alcaraz is through to the last eight in Monte Carlo with a 6-3, 6-1 win over qualifier Daniel Altmaier.

The 21-year-old Spaniard didn’t have his A-game on serve, facing 10 break points, but that shot is still a work in progress. He’s made several tweaks in the last few months, and I think he’s probably on the right track.

What he lacks in serving prowess, he more than makes up for in flair around the court, and he produced some inspired stuff. He dug himself out of a 0/40 hole in the first game of the second set before slamming the door shut en route to taking the second set for the loss of just one game.

As Sinner found out a couple of years back, Altmaier is a tough cookie on clay, so I think this was a decent win for Carlos. He’s still a bit up and down but you wouldn’t rule him out of winning the whole thing.

Next up? A quarter-final clash with Arthur Fils, who toppled former champ Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3 with the Frenchman’s groundstrokes looking far more potent than Rublev’s.

Honestly, it was difficult. Danny is playing great. He’s a solid clay-court player with a challenging game: many topspin shots, and he’s really good physically. The score doesn’t show how difficult it was… I had to battle in the first set. Getting a break before the new balls was good, which helped with the serve. In the second set, I could be myself more, play more aggressively than in the first, and I took my chances. Alcaraz on his win.

Tstitsipas Boots Out Borges

Stefanos Tsitsipas kept his Monte-Carlo streak sizzling on Thursday, steamrolling Nuno Borges 6-1, 6-1 to notch his 50th clay-court ATP Masters 1000 win.

Before last season’s Australian Open, I’d always considered Borges a pillow-punching futures-level player. However, he proved me completely wrong during the previous twelve months, and I figured he’d be a decent test for Tsitsipas, who was made to work in his opener.

Even though it looks like a demolition job on paper with a double breadstick score in 67 minutes, I thought he played okay but couldn’t stop Tsitsipas dictating with his forehand.

Once the Greek gets on top with that shot, it’s one of the best in the business, and he also had a good moving day with a lot of explosiveness.

Musetti awaits in the next round.

Most games were really close. I felt most of the games were ending at the 40/30 score, there was a lot of action. I don’t think the score resembles the match. There was a lot more than the score shows. We both tried to push each other to the limit. He was maybe unable to take advantage of certain opportunities and I handled them much better than I expected. I know I have scored good wins here and played some good tennis. I want to come back onto this court and do more and accept the new challenges. I am just trying to take it match by match. I want to create way more memories on this court and I want to play better tomorrow against Lorenzo, who is a great clay-court player. Tsitsipas on his win.

Other Matches of Note

Lorenzo Musetti ended Berrettini’s upset run in an all-Italian clash on Court Rainier III. Berrettini had stunned top seed Alexander Zverev earlier in the tournament, but Musetti’s clay-court craft proved too much as he moved into a 2-1 H2H lead. The 13th seed dictated play with precision, wrapping up the match in straight sets, and on clay, I think he’s a big favourite when the two meet.

Grigor Dimitrov outlasted Tabilo in a three-set battle on Court des Princes. The Bulgarian 15th seed dropped the second set but regrouped to dominate the decider. Tabilo flattered to deceive after his win over Djokovic, as he is not in good form, and Grigor should really have boxed that one off in straight sets to conserve energy.

Alex De Minaur dismantled 9th seed Daniil Medvedev 6-2 6-2 in just over an hour. The writing was on the wall, given Medvedev’s first two matches, as de Minaur’s speed and counterpunching overwhelmed the Russian from start to finish.

Alexei Popyrin upset fourth seed Casper Ruud 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in a tense 2-hour 58-minute battle, ensuring two Aussies were in the last eight. He survived a marathon first set, saving seven break points. While Ruud hit back, breaking early to claim the second 6-4, the Norwegian squandered a 5-3 lead and two match points in the decider as Popyrin took it 7-5. 

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina outlasted 5th seed Draper in 2 hours and 46 minutes. He took the first set 6-3 with sharp shot-making, but Draper rallied in the second, saving a match point at 6-5 in the tiebreak to snag it 8-6. The Brit served faltered in the third, landing just 48% of first serves and coughing up 10 double faults overall, including the match-ending one at 4-6.

Finally, Arthur Fils dismantled 2023 champ Andrey Rublev in a brisk 62 minutes, winning 6-2, 6-3. The 12th seed dominated with an 81% first-serve point win rate and converted 5 of 9 break points.

Rublev couldn’t counter Fils’s all-around aggression on Court des Princes, and I think Fils’ forehand is a real menace on clay; it looked far more potent than Rublev’s (who you associate as someone who whacks the ball), and he could be a homegrown factor at Roland Garros.

Highlights

Monte Carlo 2025 Day 6 Quarter Final Matches