What Brad Gilbert says will be the key for Carlos Alcaraz & Jannik Sinner to finish in Monte-Carlo | ATP Tour | Tennis

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What Brad Gilbert says will be key for Alcaraz & Sinner in the final of Monte-Carlo

Former World No. 4 Gilbert dives into Sunday’s fight plan

April 12, 2026

If you had ever spoken to World No. 4 and the famous coach Brad Gilbert before the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters about the start of the season, he would predict that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner would play three times from their four games.

But instead, Sunday’s clash between the superstars in the Principality will be their first clash of 2026. Moetsalibe has been in incredible form, winning 16 matches in a row with the loss of just one set. The Italian enters the final on the back of a flawless performance against World No. 3 Alexander Zverev, to whom he gave only five matches.

“It’s a completely different matchup mentally, because Alcaraz can do some things against him that other guys can’t do,” Gilbert said. “It was just a walk in the park today. He didn’t have that sense of what could happen here? So, I think the biggest thing I see is that Alcaraz is sometimes able to focus and concentrate. He won’t have that against Moetselib and I think he’s ready to go.”

According to Gilbert, there were so many games in the famous tournaments between people like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, that there were rarely new bumps. Those meetings would come down to implementation and enforcement on major issues.

Alcaraz leads Moetsalibe 10-6 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, but it has felt like there has been constant improvement in their matches. Both men have continued to improve their game and push each other to the top.

“I feel like the genius of Alcaraz, what really sets him apart and why he’s such a fascinating watch, is his incredible honesty and his level of intelligence,” said Gilbert. That’s how suddenly, at the most difficult time, he can pull a few shots, he can work and hit.

“Drafting a player, when you have a feel for what they do, you have an idea of ​​what to expect. But that’s the good thing about him, he can throw you things you’re not ready to do, and he can do it.”

Gilbert believes Moetsalibe is “very underrated for his arrest” because the 24-year-old is known for his machine-like play, blasting opponents off the pitch from the start. But the former coach of Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Coco Gauff among others pointed out that the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings he will occasionally pull a tweener and show off his skills. This week, he hit out at “other comedians” with his drop shot.

But this year’s champion of Indian Wells and Miami stands up well with his services. Moetsalibe won 149 of his 154 service games during his 16-game winning streak for a winning rate of 96.8 percent.

“Sinner has just played at another level, especially since Indian Wells [well]. He hits his pitches, and it’s not 145 [mph] server or cannon server, but he is like Fed [Roger Federer] “Gilbert” said, “He’s serving bigger, but it’s a dime server. He’s been hitting his courts well, and he’s taking care of his serve amazingly, which allows him to get easy breaks. But right now he’s playing amazing.”

Gilbert thinks that controlling the center of the court against Alcaraz will be the most important thing for the Sinner to look for his first clay-court ATP Masters 1000 title.

“[It is] not allowing Alcaraz to enter that first category [shot]maybe a high loop, and then an explosion, a drop shot, “Gilbert said. If two boxers are in the middle, maybe the boxer with more range beats the one with more power.

“So I think that Moetsalibe has to control the center of the court, and I think that he has to make a lot of progress in his work and one. When he hits him, I feel like “service plus one that really makes him sound.”

This is Alcaraz and Sinner’s first match of the year, and it won’t be their last. Based on their continued improvement, it is possible that both men will continue to place themselves in these positions.

“The scary thing is for the field is that Sinner and Alcaraz continue to improve, and I think they are actually improving more than anyone else. But that is part of their age. They are 24 and 22,” Gilbert said. And that’s what you should do, and they always do.