Monte Carlo Masters: Brad Gilbert tells Jannik Sinner how he can beat Carlos Alcaraz in final
Jannik Sinner’s serve will be key in the Monte Carlo Masters final against Carlos Alcaraz, but Brad Gilbert belives there is one strategy that the Italian should adopt if he wants to beat the world No 1.
The top two players on the ATP Tour both came through straightforward semi-finals as Sinner defeat Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-4 to reach the final of the ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time, while defending champion Alcaraz saw off Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-4.
They will now face each other for a 17th time at top-level tennis with the Spaniard leading the head-to-head rivalry 10-6, although Sinner won their most recent match at the ATP Finals last November.
Legendary coach Gilbert, who has mentored the likes of Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and most recently Coco Gauff, believes Sinner had “a stroll in the park” against Zverev, but it is unlikely that he will have it that easy against the seven-time Grand Slam winner on Sunday.
“It’s a completely different matchup mentally, because of the fact that Alcaraz could do some things against him that other guys can’t do,” the American told ATPTour.com. “It was just a stroll in the park today. He didn’t have that feeling of what could maybe happen here?
“So, I do think that the biggest thing that I see, that Alcaraz sometimes he can have some dips in focus and concentration. He can’t have that against Sinner and I think he’s ready to go.”
ATP News
Alexander Zverev & Valentin Vacherot’s Monte Carlo Masters prize money & ranking points revealed
Sinner has been hot on serve at ATP Masters 1000 level as he has dropped only one set so far in 2026 – and that was against Tomas Machac in the third round in Monte Carlo as he won the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open without dropping a set.
Besides his serve, Gilbert feels he needs to charge by controlling proceedings from the middle of the court.
“Sinner has just been playing on another level, especially since Indian Wells. He’s been serving so [well],” he said. “He hits his spots, and he’s not a 145 [mph] server or some cannon server, but he’s kind of like a Fed [Roger Federer] server.
“He serves a little bigger, but he’s a dime server. He’s been hitting his spots so good, and taking care of his serve so unbelievably well, which allows him to literally find easy breaks. But he’s playing at an incredible, methodical level at the moment.”
Alcaraz, of course, is known for producing the unexpected,and Gilbert says Sinner should plan for that by setting the tone.
He added: “[It is] not allowing Alcaraz to get in that first variety [shot], maybe the high loop, and then the rip, the drop shot. It’s when he’s in that stationary position and he’s the one controlling the first blow.
“It’s like two boxers being in the centre, maybe the boxer with the more variety is beating the one with more power.
“So I think Sinner has to control the centre of the court, and I think he has to really make progress on his serve plus one. When he does beat him, I feel like the serve plus one really sets the tone for him.”
