11:14
Bautista Agut 0-0 Zverev
A first longer rally then develops. Bautista Agut has to go deep to the backhand and sets a very smooth stop. 30:0!
11:13
1 sentence
At that moment, Bautista Agut opens the match. The Spaniard has to try the second serve right away, serving it through the middle of the square. Zverev stretches for the backhand return and sets it a little too long.
11:09 a.m
Because of Monaco
By the way, strictly speaking, this Masters tournament does not take place in the Principality. The Monte Carlo Country Club is only near Monaco – in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. This commune is on French territory. Of course, there is still a view of the sea and the Côte d’Azur.
11:05
Entry and coin toss
Our protagonists have just entered the Court des Princes. After a few steps of preparation, you meet with the chair umpire Manuel Messina to vote at the net. The coin falls in favor of Zverev, who opts for setback. Then both play a bit.
11:00 a.m
Head 2 Head
For the seventh time, the two professionals face each other on the tennis court. Bautista Agut won the first two matches in 2013 in Hamburg and two years later in Rotterdam in straight sets. Then Zverev turns the tables in Munich in 2017. Since then, the German has only given one sentence. By the way, the last duel was in Basel in 2018.
10:51
Bautista Agut recently in low form
At the Masters level, Bautista Agut made his biggest showing in Shanghai 2016, playing his only 1,000 final there and losing to Andy Murray. In the majors, the Iberian knew how to please as a semi-finalist in Wimbledon 2019. That year he climbed to ninth place in the world rankings. Bautista Agut has collected eleven tournament victories – the most valuable at the 500 in Dubai 2018. He completed his other 21 finals without exception in 250s. He played his last final in Adelaide at the beginning of the year. After the round of 16 at the Australian Open shortly afterwards, the form went into the basement. The world list 29. won only one match since then. It set three bankruptcies in a row. That spell broke just this week.
10:42
Bautista Agut at the Monte Carlo Country Club
Bautista Agut is serving at this 1,000er event for the ninth time since debuting in 2013. The Spaniard has never gotten past the third round. The 34-year-old played his first game the day before yesterday and had to compete with lucky loser Filip Krajinović after Mikael Ymer withdrew. The right-hander struggled for almost three hours against the Serbs and also made up for a set deficit.
10:33
Semifinalist just 12 months ago
As a former number two in the world, Olympic champion, two-time ATP champion, US Open finalist in 2020 and five-time winner of Masters tournaments with a total of 19 tournament victories, Zverev naturally has certain claims. The current world number sixteen has also delivered at the Monte Carlo Country Club, where he was in the semi-finals in 2018 and 2022. The Hamburg native has been there for the seventh time since making his debut in 2016 and is seeded 13th this year. At the start, Zverev defeated Kazakh Alexander Bublik after a set deficit in a good two hours yesterday.
10:24
The search for the form
So on the arduous way back to old form, Zverev is now working on sand. After the comeback at the beginning of the year, the Olympic champion initially failed to win two matches in a row. The end of the working day was regularly correspondingly early. Only at the 500 in Dubai did the knot seem to burst. There the 25-year-old stormed into the semi-finals and failed there at Andrey Rublev. At the following first Masters of the season in Indian Wells it was already over in the round of 16, but the right-handed player did very well in the very narrow three-set defeat against Daniil Medvedev. Shortly thereafter at the 1,000 in Miami, there was another setback with the opening defeat against Taro Daniel.
10:14
Good morning!
Welcome to the Masters Tournament of Tennis Pros at the Monte Carlo Country Club! From 11:00 a.m. the balls will fly on the Côte d’Azur, then Roberto Bautista Agut and Alexander Zverev will face each other on the Court des Princes.
