At the double! Reigning champion, Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, repeated his triumph of last year by clinching the title under an azure sky, watched by 10,000 spectators thrilled to return to the Monte-Carlo Country Club for the first time since 2019.
This 115th edition of the tournament lived up to its promise by delivering plenty of surprises - including an early exit for Novak Djokovic - and showcasing some of the tennis world's most exciting young talents. Alongside veterans such as Zverev and Dimitrov, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters saw some fine displays from young Italians Lorenzo
Musetti and Jannik Sinner (both aged 20), the American Sebastian Korda
(21), and Norway's Casper Ruud, 23 and already a fixture in the Top 10.
With his victory in Sunday's final against another potential great of the future - Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina –, Stefanos Tsitsipas became the sixth player in the Open era to successfully defend his title on the Monegasque clay, following in the footsteps of legends like Ilie Nastase (1971-1973), Bjorn Borg
(1979-1980), Thomas Muster (1995-1996), Juan Carlos Ferrero (2002-2003), and of course the clay court giant Rafael Nadal (2005-2012 and 2016-2018). The doubles final also delivered a thrilling spectacle, with world number one pair Ram and Salisbury snatching the win in a third set tie-break against Cabal and Farah of Colombia.
We're already looking forward to April 2023! Next year's event will take place without Zeljko
Franulovic, who has overseen his last final as tournament director after 17 years of loyal service. It was also a farewell for Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga. The Frenchman, who recently announced his retirement at nearly 37 years of age, was given a wildcard to compete in the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters one last time. Another wildcard, local talent Lucas Catarina from Monaco, almost pulled off a stunning shock as he came close to knocking out American Taylor Fritz, the 10th seed (6-7 / 7-6 / 6-4). The experience will surely serve him well in future tournaments, and at the 2023 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters!
Photo credit: @ MCCC 2022