Carlos Alcaraz will face Alexander Bublik for the very first time in Friday’s Monte Carlo Masters quarter-final. Ahead of their first meeting on tour, the world No. 1 made it clear that he didn’t agree with Bublik’s assessment of his and Jannik Sinner’s dominance. At the recent UTS event in Nimes, the entertaining Kazakh claimed that the top two players were currently “untouchable” at the Grand Slams.

It’s no surprise the world No. 11 feels that way. Alcaraz and Sinner have shared the last nine Grand Slam titles. And although Bublik has a 2-5 head-to-head over Sinner, he’s never taken a set off the Italian when they’ve played each other at Majors. Bublik won only six games when they met at the French Open last year, and three in their US Open fourth-round match.

Bublik will now have the opportunity to test himself against Alcaraz for the very first time. But the seven-time Grand Slam champion has already shut down the eighth seed’s “untouchable” comment.

“Well, yeah, I mean, we played [and won] the last nine Grand Slams, but I still don’t believe that we are invincible in Grand Slams,” the defending champion said after reaching the quarter-finals in Monaco.

While Alcaraz doesn’t agree with Bublik’s remarks, they’ve still given him some extra confidence going into their first match. He added: “But a player like Bublik, he’s top 10, or I think he’s still top 10, saying that, you know, it helps a lot for the confidence.

“Someone like [him] understands the game pretty well. As Bublik says, that we cannot lose in a Grand Slam, that helps a lot for us to play with a lot of confidence. But to be honest, I’m not really agreeing with it.”

Alcaraz also faced someone for the first time in the round of 16, coming up against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in their maiden meeting on the ATP Tour. However, they did face off at Challenger level six years ago. Alcaraz won that one, and they were both ranked outside of the top 300 at the time.

Reflecting on their journey, and on their latest match in Monaco, the world No. 1 said: “He shows in every match, in every tournament, how difficult it is to beat him, I would say, especially on clay. He’s a great fighter, I have a lot of respect for him about what he’s doing in tournaments, on the tour. I think it is impressive.

“I’m just really happy to see both of us climbing in the tour. Looking back a little bit, back in 2020, the first time we met on a tennis court, back in the Challengers. And now to see us playing in the centre court of Monte Carlo, I think this is special, so I’m really happy about it, and everybody could see today how good of a player he is. It’s been a great battle.”