Tennis: Casper Ruud downs Novak Djokovic; Tsitsipas beats Sinner to enter Monte-Carlo Masters final

asper Ruud stunned top seed Novak Djokovic 6-4 1-6 6-4 in a thrilling Monte Carlo Masters semi-final on Saturday (April 13), avenging his loss in last year's French Open final to set up a title clash with twice-champion Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Greek Tsitsipas upset second seed Jannik Sinner 6-4 3-6 6-4 in the first semi-final.

Norwegian Ruud, who had lost to Djokovic in all five of their previous matches, broke twice early in the first set before the Serbian record 24-times Grand Slam champion fought back strongly in the second.

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Eighth seed Ruud held his nerve, however, as five unforced errors from Djokovic allowed him to go 3-0 up in the decider and he calmly closed out the victory.

Sinner goes down to Tsitsipas

Two-times champion Stefanos Tsitsipas stunned second seed Jannik Sinner 6-4 3-6 6-4 to advance to the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters on Saturday (April 13).

The 25-year-old Greek, who won the title in 2021 and 2022, kept his cool after a near-flawless display in the opening set to stop Sinner from producing a stirring comeback after the Italian roared back to take a 3-0 lead in the second set.

Sinner continued to build momentum after levelling things up and raced to a 4-3 lead in the decider before an injury on his right leg forced him to take a medical timeout.

The 22-year-old Italian continued the match but proved no match for Tsitsipas who re-asserted himself to win three games in a row and clinched the match.

Sinner had been in red-hot form this year, having won the Australian, Rotterdam and Miami Open, with his only loss in 23 matches coming against twice Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final of the Indian Wells last month.

Having come into the contest with an 11-6 win-loss record for 2024, the win against Sinner ensured that Tsitsipas returned in the top 10 ranking after dropping out for the first time since 2019 earlier in the year.

Tsitsipas will face Casper Ruud in the final after the Norwegian overcame top seed Novak Djokovic 6-4 1-6 6-4 in Saturday's second semi-final.