Remarkable Achievement: Alex de Minaur Delivers a Historic Bagel in Monte Carlo Win Against Grigor Dimitrov

In a historic display at the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday evening, Alex de Minaur achieved a remarkable double-bagel victory over Grigor Dimitrov, winning 6-0, 6-0 in just 45 minutes. This marks the first instance of such a scoreline occurring in an ATP Masters 1000 match beyond the quarter-finals.

Furthermore, de Minaur has become the first Australian player to reach the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters since John Alexander accomplished the feat back in 1979.

Reflecting on the matchup, de Minaur remarked, “The only time I had lost 6-0, 6-0 was to Tommy Paul in the US Open juniors semi-finals. It’s kind of surreal.”

Dimitrov had a day to forget, managing just one winner while committing 23 unforced errors, ultimately departing the court to boos from the crowd.

Despite the crushing victory over Dimitrov, de Minaur’s journey continues, with just two wins standing between him and becoming the first Australian to break into the ATP top five since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001.

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz managed to rally from a set down against Arthur Fils, while last year’s champion, Stefanos Tsitsipas, was ousted from the tournament.

World No. 3 Alcaraz found himself merely five points from defeat in the second set, and trailing 3-1 in the final set, yet he triumphed 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 after an intense two-and-a-half-hour match.

Fils, appearing in his third consecutive Masters quarter-final, struggled, racking up 53 unforced errors against the relentless Alcaraz.

“I’ve missed playing on clay,” Alcaraz expressed, as he prepares to defend his French Open title. He is now set for his first Monte Carlo semi-final against fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the runner-up from the 2022 tournament.

The two players have not faced each other on tour in two years, with Davidovich Fokina securing his semi-final spot by defeating Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2.

On the other hand, Tsitsipas was left reeling after his unexpected defeat to Lorenzo Musetti. Having secured a perfect 5-0 record against Musetti and winning the first set 6-1, Tsitsipas’s game fell apart. He struggled to maintain his serve, landing fewer than half of his first serves and recording one of his seven double faults, which put him down 4-3 in the final set. Musetti took the last two sets 6-3, 6-4.

“It’s tough to swallow,” Tsitsipas lamented. “I felt so confident here, yet to lose a match that I believed I could win is genuinely heartbreaking.”

With an emotional victory, Musetti moves on to face de Minaur next.