Monte Carlo: Alcaraz may face four eggs, American No.1 and No.5 suffer upset losses, young Rafa advances to semifinals, Zhang Shuai partners with Ostapenko.

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Last night Beijing time, the ATP1000 Monte Carlo Masters released the singles main draw entry list. Defending champion Alcaraz, along with Sinner, Zverev, and Musetti, are the top four seeds. Top eight seed matchups: In the upper half, Alcaraz vs. Bublik, Musetti vs. de Minaur; in the lower half, Medvedev vs. Zverev, Aliassime vs. Sinner.

Alcaraz has a first-round bye. His second-round opponent will be the winner between wildcard entry former tournament champion Swiss veteran Wawrinka and Argentine player Baez (ranked 170). Sinner's first opponent will be either French star Humbert or rising star Kwame.

Let's return to the tournaments. Early this morning Beijing time, the ATP250 Houston event concluded its singles quarterfinals, with all four semifinal spots determined. In these four matches, the top seed, American No.1 Shelton, and the third seed, American No.5 Lerner-Chan, both failed to win, suffering upset losses to Argentine players. Shelton was reversed by Tirante 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4; Lerner-Chan lost to Bouchard 5-7 4-6. The other two semifinal spots were taken by local stars Tommy Paul and Tiafoe; the former defeated Argentine player Etcheverry in two sets, while the latter reversed Australian player Poprin in a deciding-set tiebreak.

ATP250 Marrakech: In the singles quarterfinals, 19-year-old Spanish youngster Rafa Hodar, leading 6-2 2-0, received a retirement gift from opponent Muller, thereby advancing to his first career tour-level semifinal. In the semifinal, he will face Argentine player Carabelli. Qualifier Trungelliti reversed third seed Mutai 4-6 6-3 6-4, reaching a tour-level semifinal after eight years, and will also enter the TOP100 next week for the first time, becoming the oldest player (36 years) to debut in the top 100 since the ranking system was established. In the semifinal, he will face defending champion Darderi.

ATP250 Bucharest: After a day of double matches, the singles semifinals are set. Semifinal matchups: Navone vs. Van de Sandschulp, Marosan vs. Merida.

Women's tournaments: In the WTA500 Charleston singles quarterfinals, defending champion and top seed Pegula, trailing 0-2 in the deciding set, staged a strong comeback, delivering a "bagel" (winning six consecutive games), and ultimately reversed Russian rising star Schneider 3-6 6-3 6-2, advancing to the semifinals after three consecutive comeback victories. Next, she will compete with compatriot younger sister Jovic for a final spot; Jovic defeated Russian star Kalinskaya 6-3 6-4, marking her third tour-level semifinal appearance this year.

Local player and fifth seed Keys also played a full three sets, reversing third seed Swiss star Bencic 4-6 6-3 6-2, entering her first semifinal this season. In the semifinal, she will face Ukrainian dark horse Starodubtseva for a final ticket; the latter eliminated local star Kessler 6-4 6-4, reaching her first career tour-level semifinal.

WTA250 Bogota: In the singles quarterfinals, Argentine qualifier Ortenzi, who eliminated defending champion Osorio in the previous round, continued her strong run, reversing compatriot wildcard entry Riera 6-7(5) 6-3 6-2 to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinal, she will challenge top seed Czech star Bouzkova. Udvardy and Arango also defeated their respective opponents to meet in the semifinals.

Additionally, on the WTA500 Stuttgart doubles entry list, Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai once again changed partners. This time, she is partnering with Latvian star Ostapenko. Some fans joked that the duo, one slim and one stout, could be called the "Slim-Stout Pair"! What name would you give to this pair?

Finally, let's play a guessing game. The image below shows a player during a match. Without any hints, can you recognize who he is?

For the previous guessing game, a tennis friend provided the correct answer. Indeed, the person in the image is Canadian star Andreescu.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Unique Individual)