The European clay-court swing continues at the Monte-Carlo Masters on Monday, with Karen Khachanov facing Arthur Rinderknech and Flavio Cobolli going up against Francisco Comesana in the opening round.
Arthur Rinderknech vs. (12) Karen Khachanov
Arthur Rinderknech is ranked 27th in the world, but his spot inside the top 30 isn’t a reflection of his results so far in 2026. The Frenchman is 5-7 coming back to Europe. He has hardly managed to win two matches in a row this year.
That he runs into Karen Khachanov straight away isn’t the worst news. The Russian isn’t in the best form, either. Rinderknech won their only other meeting, but it was back in 2022. I’ll give the nod to Khachanov. He is a good clay-courter and Rinderknech doesn’t seem to be in the kind of form right now that could pull off the upset.
Cheryl pick: Khachanov in 3
Ricky pick: Khachanov in 3
(10) Flavio Cobolli vs. (Q) Francisco Comesana
This is one of those cases where coming up through qualies may actually be a benefit. Francisco Comesana has already had a couple of matches at the Monte-Carlo Country Club this weekend, while Flavio Cobolli is coming in cold off North American hard courts.
Comesana beat Ethan Quinn, the top qualifying seed, to earn his spot in the main draw. The Argentine is ranked 87th in the world, but he is not as far away from Cobolli as his ranking might suggest. Look for this one to be a tough battle. I still think Cobolli will win — he is comfortable on clay and he will have plenty of Italians in the crowd pulling for him — but he will have to work for it.
Cheryl pick: Cobolli in 3
Ricky pick: Comesana in 3