Surprise, surprise. Who arrived as the prom king and queen on Sunday yet again? Sir Carlos Alcaraz & Your Highness Jannik Sinner.

The pair jousted for the 17th time — this time for the Monte Carlo title and World No. 1 spot. Heading into Sunday, the two shared some stats that I can only describe as spooky.

Before we say Ready, Play on the match break down, let’s take a second to soak in the utopia that is the Monte-Carlo Country Club 😍

Now, the match itself:

One of the dominant factors in this match was everyone’s favorite water cooler topic: Bieberchella the weather. A damp, windy, overcast day made it hard for Alcaraz in particular to find his best tennis.

Sir Andy Murray weighed in part way through the not-so-pretty, error-filled match.

One of Alcaraz's biggest weapons is his forehand — specifically his ability to crank up the RPMs and make the ball kick up and away. When it's firing, the Spaniard toys with his opponents — but the slow conditions dampened his God-like ability considerably.

Meanwhile Sinner (groundstroke-destruction-bot), can hit through the court in basically any conditions. Fast court, slow court, sunny, cloudy, damp — it doesn't really matter (hence his titles in Indian Wells, Miami, and now Monte Carlo, all vastly different conditions). The kids call this winsmaxxing.

So on a slow, heavy day in Monaco, advantage Sinner. The conditions muffled Carlitos’ heavy forehand and kick serve — which made it slightly easier for the Italian to do what he does best: crank suffocating groundstrokes until something breaks.

Let’s take a bit of detour, away from the tactics.

For a match this significant — No. 1 ranking on the line, biggest rival, Monte Carlo — Alcaraz's fighting spirit felt strangely absent.

I don’t have a fist-pump or vamos counter (maybe I should), but it seemed like the frequency of those two things were a bit low on Sunday. The match wasn’t going the way he hoped, and it seemed like he didn’t know how to manage mentally. It manifested in errors: he made just 79% of his backhands on Sunday — well below his 84% average.

It reminded me of the 2023 US Open, when Medvedev beat him in the semis on Arthur Ashe. The stadium was going bananas. Carlos was a little off — and instead of digging in, he looked like a deer in the headlights. He’s come so far since then, but something about less-than-ideal conditions at big moments can get to him in a way it doesn't quite get to Sinner.

It's not a huge gap. And I'd be careful about overstating it — he's 22 years old and still one of the two best players on the planet. But it's a pattern worth watching as the clay season unfolds.

This former ATP player holds the record for most consecutive aces hit in a match at 10. Who is it?

A. John Isner

B. Roger Federer

C. Sam Querrey

D. Ivan Lendl

Find out at the bottom!

Loved this tip from Sabalenka’s coach Jason since it’s something all of us earthlings can do! Learn what else he focuses on to help Aryna sustain her greatness.

Is there one person that…

…that might like Unforced Error? If someone comes to mind, I’d super appreciate you forwarding them this edition or encouraging them to subscribe! Here’s the link: https://theunforcederror.com/

Some of the best tennis content I found on the internet this week…

🫨 In case you missed it: Medvedev’s huge crash out while getting whooped 6-0, 6-0 to Berrettini in Monte Carlo

🏌 A close look at Nadal’s (gross) golf swing, live from The Masters in Augusta

👁 How Frances Tiafoe has navigated sponsorship deals throughout his career, and why he switched from Nike to Lululemon

C. Sam Querrey

Querrey hit a whopping 10 consecutive aces against James Blake at the Indianapolis Open back in 2007.