5 Carlos Alcaraz Quotes After Monte-Carlo Masters Finals Loss

The tennis world woke up to a new ATP World No. 1 on Monday morning. Jannik Sinner eclipsed Carlos Alcaraz for the top spot following his triumph in the 2026 Monte-Carlo Masters final on Sunday afternoon.

Judging by body language during their post-match press conferences, it would have been hard to tell who won and who lost. Sinner was strictly business as always, while Alcaraz was as candid as ever. Below are the five most important quotes from Alcaraz following his setback.

"I didn't play well."

When asked what the key today was, Alcaraz said, "Well, I would say the important moments, the important points. I didn't play well. I think I had so much opportunities in the match that I didn't take it. So many games point so many 15-30, love-30. I think the first time I didn't play well, and I think he just playing unbelievable tennis when it matters. So I think that was the key today."

"Today was really difficult conditions."

When asked if the wind bothered him during the match, "Well, I think today was really difficult conditions because I just consider myself, that I play great tennis when there is a lot of wind. Today's wind was a little bit tricky because it wasn't just one direction.

It was turning around every point. I could play with the wing helping, and then the next point it was totally the opposite. So it was tricky to understand where the wind goes. But I would say we played a great tennis beside the the conditions today."

After complimenting Sinner's play, Alcaraz added, "I didn't adapt my game, my style that much, or that I usually do when these conditions come. But it is what it is, so it just bothers me. Obviously, I think it bothers Janik, but you know, I think he just uh plays a lot."

Sinner on clay will be "really, really dangerous for everybody"

When asked if he was impressed by Sinner, Alcaraz answered, "Well, I'm not surprised at all. We've seen Jannik's level on clay, and I think he has been improving a lot year by year. I think he's reaching a level on clay that is going to be really, really dangerous for everybody. I'm not surprised at all because we could see last year in the French Open the level he played, and I'm not really wanting to talk again about it, but he has the level on clay to win every tournament. He plays on clay on every service, of course, but he's understanding the game in clay pretty well."

"The main goal is to play the full clay season calendar."

When asked about his upcoming schedule on clay and how he feels, Alcaraz explained, "Well, I don't know. The main goal is to play the full clay season calendar. So, let's see how it's going to be. It was the goal last year as well, and unfortunately, I couldn't because I was injured. So, we touch-and-go and praying that nothing's going to happen to my body.

So, I'm going to hear my body much better than last year, for sure. If I'm going to skip one, I will skip one tournament. If my body stays healthy, I'm going to do whatever it takes to be healthy and take care of my body. If I don't have any problems, I will play everything on clay."

When asked if Sinner won the match from the baseline, Alcaraz agreed, "Yeah, 100%. I think on clay probably, in some moments, the serves can help a lot, but overall it's just from the baseline. I think he won the match from the baseline. I think he just plays much, much better than, especially as you said, from backhand to backhand."