World No. 2 Jannik Sinner will be back on the court to kick off his clay-court campaign when he faces Sebastian Korda in round two of the Monte-Carlo Masters on Wednesday. Karen Khachanov and Francisco Cerundolo are also in action.
Sebastian Korda vs. (2) Jannik Sinner
Sinner has charged up the rankings to No. 2 in the world and as he begins his clay-court swing he has a real chance to reach No. 1 at least by the end of the French Open. The 22-year-old Italian is 22-1 so far this season, 25-1 in his last 26 matches overall, and 35-2 in his last 37. Sinner has already captured a trio of titles in 2024–the Australian Open, Rotterdam, and Miami.
Up first for the No. 2 seed in the second round of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Wednesday is Korda. They have split their two previous encounters; Sinner prevailed 7-6(3), 7-6(3) at the 2021 Washington, D.C. tournament before Korda cruised 7-5, 6-1 early last year in Adelaide. Whereas Sinner has taken flight since then, Korda has mostly been stuck in neutral. The 27th-ranked American compiled a decent 26-16 record in 2023 and is 11-8 so far in 2024 after defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday. Korda is dangerous, but Sinner is simply on a different level right now.
Pick: Sinner in 2
(15) Karen Khachanov vs. Francisco Cerundolo
Khachanov and Cerundolo will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the second time this spring when they meet again on Wednesday. The Russian improved to 3-0 in the head-to-head series with a 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(5) victory a couple of weeks ago in Miami. He previously defeated Cerundolo 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-3 at the 2022 Montreal Masters and 6-3, 6-2 at the 2023 Miami Masters.
Although clay may give Cerundolo his best chance in this matchup, Khachanov is no slouch on the slow stuff. The world No. 17 was a semifinalist last year at Roland Garros and his 2024 clay-court campaign is off to a strong start with a 7-5, 7-6(4) win over Cameron Norrie on Monday. Cerundolo beat Daniel Altmaier 7-6(2), 6-3 in his opening match, but the 22nd-ranked Argentine still has a losing record this year (8-10). This should be another competitive contest between these two players, but Khachanov will likely have the edge yet again.
Pick: Khachanov in 3
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