Jannik Sinner saw his streak of 37 consecutive sets won at Masters 1000 level ended by Tomas Machac as the Italian reached the quarter-finals of the Monte-Carlo Masters with a 6-1 6-7(3) 6-3 win.

Last month Sinner became the first man to complete the Sunshine Double without dropping a set, claiming titles at Indian Wells and ‌the Miami Open, and had also won the Paris Masters title last year.

Despite the setback, Sinner recovered to seal victory over his Czech opponent to continue his charge to dethrone the current world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.

Not every ‌day is the same. I was struggling a little bit, I was a bit tired," Sinner said.

"I felt great ‌before the match. In the second set I struggled a bit to find the right energy, but this can happen.

"I tried to push myself through, which I have done. Even when ⁠you don't feel your best, you try to find ways and that was the case today and I am happy. The main priority is to recover."

Sinner faces Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals ⁠after the sixth seed progressed when Casper Ruud was forced to retire with the Canadian leading 7-5 2-2.

Alcaraz through to continue ATP rankings defence

Alcaraz also dropped a set before taking a 6-1 4-6 6-3 win over Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry to continue his title defence.

The Spaniard fell into an unexpected battle in the second set when he made 23 unforced errors to allow Etcheverry, the reigning Rio ATP 500 champion, to storm to a set win and force a third.

But the pressure on Alcaraz isn't just from his opponents on the court, as a title run for Sinner could mean he bumps himself back up to the world No.1 spot.

"I was just feeling the ball really well in the first set, hitting the ball like 10 out of 10, I would say," Alcaraz said.

"So and then in the second set, I started playing well as well. I just had chances to break his serve in the second game, but I just didn't take it.

"And as I say every time, when you don't take the opportunities in this kind of level, you have to run back.

"So I would say he gained a little bit of confidence after that, playing more aggressively, hitting the ball better, and not making that many mistakes.

"After that, I would say the conditions were a little bit slower, which became a little bit tougher, but I would say that was a great quality fight at the end. "

Alcaraz will play Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals, the first time the pair will play one another in an official tournament, after the Kazakhstani took a 6-2 7-5 win over Jiri Lehecka in 75 minutes.

Zverev, Fonseca and De Minaur also through

Elsewhere, 19-year-old Joao ⁠Fonseca eased past Matteo Berrettini 6-3 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of a Masters 1000 event for the first time.

While third seed Alexander Zverev defeated Zizou Bergs 6-2 7-5 to reach the tournament's last ight for the first time since 2022.

Australia's Alex De Minaur took a tight 7-5 7-6 (7-4) win over qualifier Alexander Blockx, who had celebrated his 21st birthday the day before, after early exits at the Miami Open and Indian Wells.

Rune set to return after Achilles surgery

Three-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist Holger ‌Rune will return to action at ​next month's Hamburg Open after having Achilles surgery in ​October.

Rune suffered the season-ending Achilles ​tendon rupture in the Stockholm Open semi-finals when he was up a ​set against Ugo ⁠Humbert.

Days later, ⁠he returned to the top 10 in the ‌world rankings despite losing out on a second title of the ‌year.

"The hard work starts in Hamburg. I can't wait to be back on clay at the Bitpanda ⁠Hamburg Open and to ​finally experience the atmosphere ​on site again after ​such a long break," the 22-year-old ⁠Dane said in a statement.

The Hamburg Open starts on May ⁠16, with Germany's ​world No 3 Alexander Zverev also ​taking part.

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