Alcaraz's daring comeback vs. Fils in Monte-Carlo voted ATP Tour's Match of the Year
A furious blur of shotmaking and nerve, Carlos Alcaraz’s quarter-final victory over Arthur Fils at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters has been voted by fans as the ATP Tour’s Match of the Year for 2025.
The two young stars produced a blistering spectacle in their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, one that felt like the birth of a long-term rivalry. Fils unloaded explosive, heavy groundstrokes from the baseline to grab the opening set before Alcaraz mounted the kind of miraculous escape that would become a theme of his title run, prevailing 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 after two hours, 23 minutes.
In the fan vote, the Alcaraz-Fils thriller fended off strong competition, including Jannik Sinner’s marquee championship-match triumph in Vienna over Alexander Zverev and a gruelling, three-hour Athens final between Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti.
It was, however, Alcaraz’s mix of quality, courage and chaos in Monte-Carlo that made his triumph the match that supporters deemed the year’s unforgettable standout.
Watch Alcaraz vs. Fils Highlights:
Saving three break points at 5-5, 0/40 in the second set and later overturning a 1-3 deficit in the third, Alcaraz repeatedly absorbed Fils’ pace and power before counterpunching with trademark flair. The Spaniard’s nerve under pressure not only cracked Fils’ resistance but also marked one of three victories from a set down on his way to a maiden triumph in the Principality.
“I think his level is high right now and he puts a lot of pressure on his opponents,” Alcaraz said of Fils. “Today I could feel it but in some moments he just made a few mistakes. I tried to make the most of those points and wait for my chances.”
[ATP APP]It marked one of eight tour-level trophies across the season for Alcaraz, who also clinched Roland Garros and US Open crowns en route to reclaiming ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours for the first time since 2022. The Spaniard also produced a clay-court thriller in the Roland Garros final, delivering an epic comeback to stun rival Sinner for the crown. That match topped the list of Best Grand Slam matches from 2025.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]