Carlos Alcaraz admits Jannik Sinner will steal his crown at Monte-Carlo Masters

Carlos Alcaraz has admitted defeat in his battle to keep his spot as world number one during the Monte-Carlo Masters.

With the clay season now underway, tennis superstar Alcaraz is facing massive pressure as he hopes to defend the title in three consecutive events.

The first of which is at the ongoing Monte-Carlo Masters, the first event of the clay season, ahead of the Italian Open in Rome and, of course, the French Open major at Roland Garros, where he defeated rival Jannik Sinner in last year's final.

But it's not just the titles that the Spaniard had been hoping to defend in the coming weeks, as his spot as world no.1 is also under threat from Sinner, who has enjoyed an impressive run of form in recent months.

However, after just two rounds in Monte-Carlo, Alcaraz has admitted that it is only a matter of time before Sinner takes his spot on top of the sport in a surprisingly honest interview.

“To be honest, I’m going to lose the number one of the world,” he said after his second round win over Sebastian Baez.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be in this tournament or in the next one.

“I defend a bunch of points that are going to be really difficult to defend all.

“Even if I defend them, Jannik is going to add some points in these tournaments and he doesn’t have to defend any points in this tournament.

“So I will try to play my best, and let’s see what happens.”

Alcaraz v Sinner is the biggest rivalry in tennis. (Image: Jung Yeon-je / AFP via Getty Images)

Heading into the clay season, there is just just 1,190 points separating the two rivals, but Sinner maintains that advantage in the fight for the no.1 ranking because he didn't compete in Monte-Carlo last year.

That means that he has more points available to him, while Alcaraz has 1,000 points to defend, meaning that Sinner will become world no.1 if he reaches the semi-finals while Alcaraz fails to retain the trophy.

However, Alcaraz admired that this is not something that he will be thinking about in the coming weeks, as he plans to use Monte-Carlo as a good opportunity to prepare for the remainder of the clay season.

“For me, the number one of the sport is not in my mind right now,” he added.

“I’m just trying to feel the best way, or as good as I can on the clay court, and let’s see how it’s going to be on the clay swing.”