Argentine tennis player Tomás Etcheverry achieved a significant victory over the always challenging Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov to advance to the second round of the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000. Etcheverry, who is experiencing one of the best moments of his career, won 6-4, 2-6, and 6-3 after one hour and 56 minutes of play. In this way, the player from La Plata was able to defeat the Bulgarian for the first time. Dimitrov is gradually returning to his best level after a tough injury he suffered midway through last year at Wimbledon, when he had the Italian Jannik Sinner against the ropes. Etcheverry's opponent in the second round will be Frenchman Térence Atmane, who defeated American Ethan Quinn in a solid 6-1 and 6-4 performance on Tuesday morning. Etcheverry has found great consistency from the end of 2025 into the start of this 2026, during which he also secured his first title by winning the ATP 500 in Rio. This has allowed him to return to the top 30 of the ATP rankings and he has a great chance to keep climbing. Meanwhile, another Argentine, Sebastián Báez, was unable to impose his game on world number one Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated him comfortably 6-1 and 6-3 in just one hour and nine minutes to reach the quarterfinals. The only moment Báez could have troubled Alcaraz was in the second set, when he had the chance to make it 4-4, but the Spaniard reacted in time, broke his serve, and ultimately closed out the match on his serve. The other Argentine in the second round of the season's third Masters 1000 is Francisco Cerúndolo (16th), who on Monday defeated the three-time champion at this tournament, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, in straight sets. His opponent in the second round will be Czech Tomas Machac, who won in the first round against German Daniel Altmaier.
