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There is an all-unseeded quarterfinal clash in the bottom half of the Monte-Carlo draw, where Alexei Popyrin battles Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Friday. The winner will go up against either Carlos Alcaraz or Athur Fils.

(12) Arthur Fils vs. (2) Carlos Alcaraz

Coming off an underwhelming Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami, Alcaraz dropped his opening set at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters 6-3 to Francisco Cerundolo. Since then, the third-ranked Spaniard has been a man on a mission. He stormed through the last two sets against Cerundolo 6-0, 6-1 and then crushed Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-1 on Thursday.Up next for Alcaraz is a first-ever showdown against Fils on quarterfinal Friday. Unlike his opponent, Fils has been incredibly consistent of late. The 20-year-old made quarterfinal appearances in both Indian Wells and Miami; now he is through to a third straight Masters 1000 QF following wins over Tallon Griekspoor, Flavio Cobolli, and Andrey Rublev. Since dropping the first set against Griekspoor in a tiebreaker, Fils has rolled by set scores of 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, and 6-3. The Frenchman is on fire and basically playing at home, so he has a good chance to pull off a big upset.

Pick: Fils in 3

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Alexei Popyrin

Popyrin and Davidovich Fokina will also be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers. Although it is a somewhat surprising matchup between two unseeded players, it is not a complete shock given that this quarter of the draw was wide open from the start. Popyrin has taken advantage with three-set wins over Ugo Humbert, Frances Tiafoe, and Casper Ruud–the latter from two match points down. Davidovich Fokina punched his ticket to the last eight by beating Ben Shelton, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and Jack Draper.

Multiple advantages–albeit slight ones–go to Davidovich Fokina. Since turning pro in 2016, the 42nd-ranked Spaniard is 109-70 on clay across all levels; in the exact same time frame, Popyrin is 78-56. Monte-Carlo specifically has to be considered ADF’s favorite clay-court event, having finished runner-up to Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2022. Both players endured tough three-setters on Thursday, but Davidovich Fokina is definitely the fresher of the two since his first two matches were routine. He should be able to put himself within one win of a return trip to the Monte-Carlo final.

Pick: Davidovich Fokina in 3