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Alex de Minaur overturned a slow start to defeat Cameron Norrie and reach the Monte Carlo last 16.

Alex de Minaur recovered from a slow start to defeat Cameron Norrie in three sets at the Monte Carlo Masters, avenging his loss to the Brit just weeks earlier at Indian Wells.

De Minaur, the fifth seed, was under pressure early but fought back to secure a 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 6-2 win on Tuesday. The Australian had been beaten in straight sets by Norrie in the United States, but this time showed greater resilience on clay.

Norrie made the stronger start, moving 4-2 ahead in the opening set before De Minaur lifted his intensity to force a tiebreak, which he edged. The British number one responded in the second set, winning five consecutive games to level the match.

However, De Minaur took control in the decider, breaking serve twice early to seal the match and book a place in the last 16. He will next face either Flavio Cobolli or Alexander Blockx.

Earlier, fellow Australian Alexei Popyrin exited the tournament after a straight-sets defeat to ninth seed Casper Ruud.

Top contenders Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz also began their clay court campaigns with convincing wins. Sinner required just 64 minutes to dispatch Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-0, while defending champion Alcaraz defeated Sebastian Baez 6-1, 6-3.

Despite his strong start, Alcaraz acknowledged the pressure of maintaining the world number one ranking. He indicated he expects to lose the top spot at some stage, citing the difficulty of defending ranking points compared to Sinner, who has fewer points to protect during the clay swing.

Other winners on the day included Matteo Berrettini, Alexander Bublik, Marin Cilic and Tomas Etcheverry.