Clay bites back: Monte Carlo’s red dirt claims another batch of victims, from Musetti to Rublev
Valentin Vacherot defeated Lorenzo Musetti 7-6 (6), 7-5 on Wednesday evening. He’ll play Pole Hubert Hurkacz in the next round
Valentin Vacherot, Monte-Carlo 2026 | © Chryslène Caillaud / PsNewz
If Tuesday belonged to the kings – Alcaraz and Sinner gliding onto the Monégasque clay with the ease of men born to it – then Wednesday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters was a brutal reminder that for everyone else, the surface switch from hard court to clay remains one of the sport’s most unforgiving transitions.
Four seeded players fell. A fifth barely survived. And the most spectacular crash of all didn’t just end a match – it ended a racket, in seven violent pieces, on Court Rainier III.
• No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev lost 6-0, 6-0 to wildcard Matteo Berrettini.
• No. 4 seed Lorenzo Musetti fell to home favourite Valentin Vacherot.
• No. 10 seed Flavio Cobolli was dismantled by qualifier Alexander Blockx.
• No. 13 seed Andrey Rublev was swept aside by Zizou Bergs
• And No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev, who trailed 0-4 and then 2-5 in the deciding set against qualifier Cristian Garin, only just survived to tell the tale.
Bergs and Blockx: Belgium’s big Wednesday
While the big names crumbled, two Belgians had the afternoon of their lives. Zizou Bergs dispatched Andrey Rublev – the 2023 Monte Carlo champion, no less – 6-4, 6-1, to reach the last 16.
Rublev remains one of only two Russians ever to win this title, the other being Andrey Chesnokov back in 1990. That history counted for nothing on Wednesday as Bergs, ranked 47th, was simply the better player. It is worth noting that Rublev had taken a medical timeout during his first-round win over Borges, citing pain in his neck and back, which gives some context to the margin – but takes nothing away from a composed Belgian performance. Bergs now faces Zverev.
If anything, Alexander Blockx’s victory was even more startling. The 21-year-old came through qualifying and only made his Top 100 debut this January. He then beat Shapovalov in the first round, and on Wednesday dismantled 10th seed Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-3 without breaking sweat. He faces Alex de Minaur next — a daunting step up, but one he has earned the right to take.
Vacherot sends Monaco wild
Valentin Vacherot had already beaten Cerundolo on home clay earlier in the week. On Wednesday evening, he added Lorenzo Musetti – the No. 4 seed and last year’s finalist – to his list of victims, winning 7-6, 7-5 to the delight of a crowd that considers him one of their own.
The Monégasque, ranked 23rd, will now face Hubert Hurkacz in the last 16. In a tournament that loves a home story, Vacherot is writing a good one.
The defeat carries a painful points sting for the Italian. Musetti loses 640 ranking points from his runner-up finish here last year, a haemorrhage that will drop him from No. 4 to No. 9 in the world when the new rankings land on Monday.
Zverev wobbles but survives
Not everyone in the top half of the draw fell. Alexander Zverev did eventually get over the line against qualifier Cristian Garin. But the manner of it, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, will have given him no comfort whatsoever. Committing 47 unforced errors, Zverev found himself trailing 0-4 and then 2-5 in the deciding set.
Garin even served for the match at 5-3, before Zverev broke twice and then reeled off five consecutive games to seal it. The German is through, but the clay hasn’t clicked yet – and Bergs will arrive for their last-16 clash with all the confidence of a man who just dismantled a former champion.
