Tennis returns to the clay for the first of three ATP Masters 1000 events of the clay-court season with world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz, red-hot Jannik Sinner and British No 1 Cameron Norrie all in action at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters - live on Your Site Tennis.
Seven of the top 10 players on the ATP Tour will be competing in the principality, with Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Jack Draper among the notable absentees.
Defending champion Alcaraz and world No 2 Sinner are set to continue their epic rivalry in a week of sun, sea and world-class tennis, with Norrie the only Briton set for singles action after Draper announced his withdrawal from the tournament.
Alcaraz claimed his first Monte-Carlo crown last year after beating Italy's Lorenzo Musetti 3-6 6-1 6-0 in the final, but the Spaniard comes up against Sinner, who goes into this tournament having sealed 'The Sunshine Double' of Indian Wells and Miami without dropping a set.
The Italian has closed the gap between himself and Alcaraz in the race for top-spot in the rankings.
The Spaniard remains 1,190 points clear of Sinner, but the 24-year-old has turned the tables leading into the clay season with Alcaraz defending 4,300 points across the European clay-court swing.
In contrast, Sinner has just 1,950 points to defend, with zero points until Rome in May.
Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli hailed Sinner's trust in his team, led by Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, including fitness coach Umberto Ferrara and physiotherapist Alejandro Resnicoff.
"He has so much trust in his team and the understanding that he wants to stay at the top of the game he has to keep on improving all the time because when you stay still, you actually go backwards," she told Your Site Tennis following his victory in Miami.
"It takes a lot of courage and sacrifices to put those hard yards on the court. They're tough sessions but he also mentioned that he's capable of playing so well that gives him the pride and the joy from the reward of his work. [He is an] absolutely incredible champion and very worthy."
Norrie regained his position at the top of the British rankings after an impressive run to the quarter-finals at Indian Wells and will hope to continue his strong start to the year when he transitions onto the clay.
Last year's clay swing saw Norrie record some standout results, including reaching the fourth round at the French Open and the semi-finals of the Geneva Open.
The 30-year-old has already won one title on clay at the 2023 Rio Open and will be hoping to add another to his resume.
The Monte-Carlo Country Club, located in the Roqbrune-Cap-Martin in the Alpes-Maritimes, opened in 1928, and has one of the most picturesque views on the circuit.
The draw for the tournament has hinted at a Sinner vs Alcaraz clash in the final, should the one and two seeds respectively progress through their sides of the bracket.
Alcaraz's side contains the likes of Lorenzo Musetti, Alex de Minaur and Alexander Bublik, while Sinner could face Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Felix Auger-Aliassime on his way to a potential final.
Draper's withdrawal from the tournament means newly-crowned British No 1 Cameron Norrie will face Serb Miomir Kecmanovic, but a tough test against No 5 seed De Minaur awaits should he win his first-round tie.
A total of 56 singles players will compete in the 2026 edition of this tournament. The top eight players will earn byes into the second round.
The event gets under way on Sunday April 5 through to Sunday April 12 with matches starting from 10am UK time.
The first round starts on Monday April 6 with the second round starting on Tuesday April 7.
The quarter-finals will take place on Friday April 10. The semi-finals will be held on Saturday April 11 and the singles and doubles finals scheduled for Sunday April 12.
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