Along with being one of the world’s best men’s tennis players right now, Carlos Alcaraz is known for one more thing: his sportsmanship. The Spaniard showed another exhibit after the Monte-Carlo Masters semifinal, where he faced local favorite Valentin Vacherot.
Carlos Alcaraz Pays Respect to Valentin Vacherot
Following the historic start to his 2026 season, Alcaraz finished the hard-court swing disappointingly. He was defeated by former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells semifinal, whereas American Sebastian Korda stunned him in the third round of the Miami Open.
Putting these exits behind him, the World No. 1 returned to his hometown of Murcia to prepare for the clay season. Known for his all-surface mastery, Alcaraz arrived in Monte-Carlo as the defending champion, looking to conquer the ATP Tour again, which has worked out for the Spaniard so far.
He is in the final of the Masters 1000 tournament, which he reached by defeating Monégasque player Vacherot 6-4, 6-4 in just under 90 minutes. However, it was Alcaraz’s post-match actions that made headlines, prompting the entire tennis world to admire his kind nature.
After reaching the final, the Spaniard uniquely signed the camera lens, writing, “Respect to Valentin!!” which immediately went viral on social media. During his on-court interview, Alcaraz shared his opinions on the local favorite’s performance, saying, “For me, I’m just happy to win this really difficult match against Valentin. He’s playing great tennis with a lot of confidence right now, playing in his hometown.”
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“ respect to valentin” class 🙂↕️ pic.twitter.com/yeh15NC9o4
— f #7inMelbourne (@fvaeey) April 11, 2026
He concluded by praising the Monégasque and focusing on the upcoming battle with Jannik Sinner. “It was really tough to get the win, but I’m really excited about my first meeting with Jannik in 2026.” Vacherot, the reigning Shanghai Masters champion, was in a strong form, defeating Juan Manuel Cerundolo in his first match. He then stunned the fourth seed, Lorenzo Musetti, before taking on Hubert Hurkacz.
The World No. 23 defeated the Pole in a three-set thriller before causing another major upset. Vacherot defeated the fifth seed, Alex de Minaur, in the quarterfinals to set up his first ATP Tour-level clash with the Spaniard.
Another Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner Showdown
Earlier in the day, Sinner defeated the World No. 3 Alexander Zverev to become the fourth man in ATP history to reach the finals of the first three Masters 1000 events in a year after the Big Three. He secured his eighth consecutive tour-level win over the German with a 6-1, 6-4 scoreline.
The World No. 2 is on a 21-match win streak at the Masters 1000 level following his three consecutive titles in Paris last year and the Sunshine Double this year. The upcoming match marks the first Sincaraz meeting of the 2026 season, with Sinner winning their last head-to-head match at the 2025 ATP Finals.
Alcaraz has an upper hand, with a 10-6 head-to-head record in their past 16 meetings, and has won the last three clay matches against Sinner. He also became just the third man to reach 10 finals at this level before turning 23, joining Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
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Interestingly, the Italian has a 23-2 record this season compared to Alcaraz’s 21-2. If he wins the upcoming final, he will become the World No. 1 again, as he is not defending any points at the tournament, whereas the Spaniard is defending 1,000 ranking points and would lose 350 for a runner-up finish.
Tomorrow’s final is guaranteed to be another classic between the World No. 1 and No. 2. With the ATP No. 1 ranking up for grabs, PFSN’s exclusive interactive simulator is predicting a 59% chances of the Spaniard defending his title, but the Italian is known for going against the odds.
