(Photo credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images)

Italian Jannik Sinner fought off the wind and rival Carlos Alcaraz of Spain on Sunday to win the Monte-Carlo Masters, downing Alcaraz 7-6 (5), 6-3 in Monaco.

For Sinner, it is his first ATP Masters title on a clay court. He now has won three consecutive Masters tournaments -- also at Indian Wells and Miami -- joining all-time great Novak Djokovic as the only men to win the first three ATP Masters 1000 of a given season. Djokovic, of Serbia, did it in 2015.

A Sinner win will move him from second place in the world rankings to first. Sinner will stand at No. 1 for the 67th week of his career when the rankings are updated Monday. Alcaraz has been No. 1 since early November.

'We came here trying to get as many matches as possible, getting good feedback before other big tournaments coming up. Today was a high level from both of us,' Sinner said in his on-court interview about his play.

'It was a bit windy, a bit breezy. Different conditions from what the tournament has brought. The result is amazing. Getting back to No. 1 means a lot for me. ... I am very happy to win a big title on this surface. I haven't done it before and it means a lot to me.'

In the opening set, Alcaraz quickly went up 2-0 but was broken in the next game to allow Sinner to get back on serve. It remained that way until the tiebreaker, in which Alcaraz fought off one match point but lost the point on his ensuing serve to give Sinner the first set.

In the second set, inconsistent play by Alcaraz cost him. Sinner broke Alcaraz's serve twice, and the Spaniard had just nine winners compared to 22 unforced errors.

For Alcaraz, the loss snapped a string of 17 consecutive wins on clay that goes back almost a year. In the stretch, Alcaraz won titles in both Rome and at the French Open, defeating Sinner in the final both times.

'It is impressive what you are achieving right now,' Alcaraz said to Sinner during the trophy presentation. 'Just one man had won the 'Sunshine Double' and Monte-Carlo and you are now the second. It is something incredible.'

In their head-to-head matches, Alcaraz holds a 10-7 lead. Sinner has won the last two and three of the last five since Alcaraz won five straight in the series from the start of 2024 through last year's French Open final.

--Field Level Media