Carlos Alcaraz shows true colours with gesture after beating Monte Carlo crowd favourite | Tennis | Sport

Carlos Alcaraz showed his class as he paid tribute to Valentin Vacherot after beating the Monegasque star at the Monte Carlo Masters. Reigning champion Alcaraz claimed a 6-4 6-4 victory over the home hope, returning to the final for the second year running. And he signed the camera lens with a message to his rival, which read: “Respect to Valentin!!”

Vacherot is no stranger to a fairytale run. At last year’s Shanghai Masters, he lifted the trophy as a qualifier ranked down at No. 204 in the world, beating Novak Djokovic en route. In the final, he defeated his own cousin, Arthur Rinderknech. And he was back at it in Monaco.

He returned to his home tournament in Monte Carlo at a career-high ranking of No. 23 in the world, and stormed into the semi-finals, taking out two top-five seeds on his way – last year’s runner-up Lorenzo Musetti, and Alex de Minaur.

Vacherot became the first Monegasque player to reach the semi-finals of this tournament, but ultimately fell short against the world No. 1 and defending champion. But Alcaraz had been impressed with what he saw from the 27-year-old throughout the tournament, and stopped to speak to Vacherot during the handshake at the net.

The top seed also applauded the world No. 23 off the court, while Albert, Prince of Monaco, also got on his feet in the stands and applauded his man. Afterwards, Alcaraz said: “For me, I’m just really happy to win this really difficult match against Valentin.

“I think he’s playing great tennis with a lot of confidence right now, playing in his hometown. It was really tough to get the win.”

Alcaraz usually has plenty of fans on his side when he steps onto a tennis court. But the crowd on Court Rainier III got behind their own. When the Spaniard asked for a video review on one of Vacherot’s shots in the second set, some boos rang out in the stands.

The world No. 23 got down low to return one of Alcaraz’s shots while serving at 4-4, but the top seed thought the ball bounced onto the floor before going over the net, and called for VAR. There were jeers and whistles as he approached the umpire to ask whether the Monegasque’s shot was legal.

Chair umpire Aurelie Tourte rewatched the shot and confirmed the point was Vacherot’s, telling the crowd: “Ladies and gentlemen, on the video, we see that Vacherot touched the ball after it touched the ground, this is a legal shot, point to Mr. Vacherot.”

Alcaraz went on to break in that game, however, and successfully served out the match. Now, he will face his greatest rival, Jannik Sinner, for the first time this year. Not only are they playing for the Monte Carlo Masters title – the world No. 1 ranking is on the line too.

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