ATP Monte Carlo Masters 2022: Carlos Alcaraz faces a third-round exit at the hands of Sebastian Korda

After being knocked out on his debut by Sebastian Korda, Carlos Alcaraz will be unable to follow in the footsteps of his hero Rafael Nadal and win the Monte Carlo Masters as an 18-year-old. The world No. 11 was playing his first match since winning the Miami Open. He had a bye to the second round in his debut appearance at the Monte Carlo Country Club, but he fell to his fellow 'Next Gen' star 7-6(2) 6-7(5) 6-3.

It was a three-hour thrilling contest at the Monte Carlo Masters

After receiving a bye, the world No. 11 met Sebastian Korda, a fellow young player whom he beat to win the Next Gen Finals championship in Milan at the end of last season. In an up-and-down encounter full of breaks, it was the American's turn to emerge triumphant this time.

Both players battled with their serves in this encounter, with Alcaraz and Korda both being broken multiple times. The Spaniard laboured mightily in the first set. He served for it twice but losing both times, and then collapsed in the tiebreak. The second set was similar. In that Alcaraz kept the lead for the majority of the set but eventually surrendered it.

He was able to force a third set by winning the tiebreak, but his tennis was still poor. Given the fact that he had far fewer chances on the Spaniard's serve, Korda was a bit more efficient with his game. This would have been an easy win if Korda had been a little sharper, but Alcaraz left a lot on the table. He got 19 breakpoints but only converted six of them.

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He was leading 2-0 in the final set but lost his service to give Korda a decisive win. Overall, both players were sloppy, but Korda fought hard and emerged as the stronger player today.

Carlos Alcaraz will next be in action at the Barcelona Open

After Djokovic in 2015, Alcaraz hoped to become the second guy in history to win Miami and Monte Carlo back-to-back. With his recent Miami Open victory, the Spaniard became the third-youngest Masters 1000 champion, after only Michael Chang in 2000 and Rafael Nadal in 2005, and he could have matched his countryman's achievement as an 18-year-old more than a decade later.

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Next up for the world No. 11 will be the Barcelona Open next week, followed by the Madrid Masters in early July. Last year, he won his first Masters 1000 tournament as a wildcard at the Madrid Open, before losing in the second round against Rafael Nadal on his 18th birthday.