MONACO – Carlos Alcaraz of Spain cruised into the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals for the first time with a straight-sets win over Daniel Altmaier of Germany, while British fifth seed Jack Draper was knocked out by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
World number 10 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan,meanwhile, showed all her battling qualities to beat Kimberly Birrell 6-3 7-6(4) and give Kazakhstan an unassailable 2-0 lead over seven-times champions Australia in their Billie Jean King Cup qualifier in Brisbane.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz brushed aside 84th-ranked German Altmaier 6-3, 6-1 to set up a last-eight clash with rising French star Arthur Fils.
Alcaraz took some time to find his rhythm as Altmaier broke him back to level at 3-3 in the first set, but it was one-way traffic from then on.
The second seed reeled off three straight games to take the first set before racing through the second in just over half an hour.
The 21-year-old, the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion, is the favourite to lift the title this weekend after early exits for top seed Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz was beaten in his first match on his only previous appearance at the tournament in 2022.
Fils eased into his third successive Masters quarterfinal this season with an impressive 6-2, 6-3 thrashing of 2023 champion Andrey Rublev.
The 20-year-old Fils is aiming to reach the semis of a Masters event for the first time, after losing in the last eight at both Indian Wells and the Miami Open this year.”If it’s him, it’s going to be the first time I’m going to play him,” Fils said of meeting Alcaraz according to AFP.
“It’s going to be a good experience. He’s a big champion. He won four Grand Slams already. I didn’t win a single one.”
Earlier, Draper was beaten in a third set by Spain’s Davidovich Fokina.
Draper, who won the Indian Wells title last month, slipped to a 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-4 loss as he failed to reach a first Masters quarter-final on clay.
The world number 42 is into the last eight in Monaco for the third time, with his best performance a run to the 2022 final which included a shock victory over Djokovic.
Davidovich Fokina edged a hard-fought opening set which featured three breaks of serve.
Draper saw three break points slip away in the ninth game, with Davidovich Fokina taking his second set point.
The players traded breaks in the second set before Draper saved a match point en route to levelling the contest in a tie-break.
But the Briton, playing in the third round of a Masters tournament on clay for the first time, slipped 2-0 behind early in the decider.
It proved to be a topsy-turvy third set, though, with the pair both broken twice inside the first six games.
Davidovich Fokina delivered the decisive blow in the 10th game to secure his first win over a top-10 opponent on clay since 2023.
Elsewhere, Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, went down an early break in the Group D tie but cranked up her powerful forehand and drew level after six games before claiming the opening set on serve with a big ace at the end.
Birrell raced to a 5-1 lead in the next but squandered a set point and Rybakina clawed her way back with some ferocious shot-making to clinch victory via the tiebreak.”It was such a difficult match,” said Rybakina according to Reuters.
“I’m super happy to bring the win for the team … it’s always nice to be back in Australia.”
Earlier, Yulia Putintseva defeated debutant Maya Joint 6-2 6-1 at Pat Rafter Arena to give Kazakhstan the early lead in the best-of-three matches contest.
Teams have been divided into six round-robin groups of three in the qualifiers this year with the winners joining hosts China and 2024 champions Italy at the Finals in Shenzhen towards the end of the season.
This year’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals have been brought forward to September to align the premier women’s team competition with the start of the WTA Tour’s Asian swing, the International Tennis Federation said.
The ITF had announced in January that the Finals would be held in Shenzhen, China until 2027, and the sport’s global body said this year’s edition will be held from September 16 to 21 following a reschedule from its November slot.
WTA tournaments will take place in Asia in Seoul, Beijing, Hong Kong, Wuhan, Osaka, Ningbo, Guangzhou, Tokyo and Jiujiang between September and October and the ITF’s move is aimed at helping players navigate the calendar better.
The qualifying round for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals are under way at Tokyo, Brisbane, Bratislava, Ostrava, Radom and The Hague.
Teams have been split into six round-robin groups of three and the winners will join China and 2024 champions Italy at the Finals in Shenzhen.
