Alcaraz off to winning start in Toronto, Monfils stuns Tsitsipas

TORONTO: Carlos Alcaraz won his 13th ATP match in a row as the world No. 1 began the Toronto Masters by defeating Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) on Wednesday.

The second-round battle of the two 20-year-olds went to the Spaniard, who is bidding for Canadian success after winning successive trophies at Queen’s Club and Wimbledon.

Alcaraz now stands 48-4 on the season as he begins the buildup for his defense of the US Open title.

The top seed admitted that he was out-hit at times by his 41st-ranked American opponent in the 56-minute contest — his first career win in Toronto.

“He was more aggressive than me from the start,” Alcaraz said. “I tried to be solid and find my rhythm but I had some trouble.

“But I’m happy to be through to the next round. Matches like this help to focus. I have to play better from now on,” added Alcaraz, who faces Polish 15th seed Hubert Hurkacz in the last 16.

Elsewhere Wednesday, French veteran Gael Monfils stunned fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, winning in straight sets to advance to the last 16.

The 36-year-old from Paris — currently ranked 276th in the world — powered past Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-3 in just under 90 minutes.

The win marked the first time Monfils has beaten a player in the top 10 since March 2022, and came against an in-form Tsitsipas fresh from winning the ATP Los Cabos title in Mexico last weekend.

Monfils, who reached the Washington third round last week, overcame 29 unforced errors to advance.

It took two match points for Monfils to get the job done, with a shotmaking duel on the first winning chance ending in Tsitsipas’ favor before the French veteran closed out victory moments later.

“After (losing) the first match point, I stayed very calm and tried to make simple