16th seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy stunned top seed and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia 4-6 7-5 6-4 in a third-round match at the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters that went on for almost three hours. It was the biggest victory in the fledgling career of the talented Italian youngster, who had also come close to beating the 22-time Grand Slam champion in the 2021 French Open.
Lorenzo Musetti will face his compatriot Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinal on Friday. On that note, we will take a look at how the match progressed:
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Lorenzo Musetti shunned extravagant shots to bounce back:
Djokovic won the first set by being his usual clinical self. Lorenzo Musetti tried a few extravagant shots, including a number of quality drop shots, in the first set, but Djokovic did just about enough to get the decisive break and draw the first blood.
In the second set, Musetti became more disciplined in his shotmaking and shunned the extravagant approach to a large extent. He kept the ball inside the opponent’s court and waited for the latter to commit mistakes _ something that Djokovic himself usually does.
However, as the Serb got the taste of his own medicine, the 21-year-old Italian also kept gifting him a number of points through unnecessary drop shots and by playing a few of his shots long while trying to go for depth.
Still, the Italian also played the angles well most of the time, imparted a lot of top spin into his forehand, and played a few thunderous down-the-line backhands to break Djokovic an unprecedented five times in a single set. The Serb committed more than 20 unforced errors, including five double faults, in the second set alone.
Still, Djokovic kept coming back and broke Musetti four times in the bizarre second set, but that extra break helped the latter win the set by holding his serve in the 12th game.
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Musetti served a lot better in the final set:
Lorenzo Musetti served with more authority in the third set and did not let the Serb off the hook as many times as he did in the second. There was a rain delay with the score tied at 1-1 in the final set, but Musetti exerted his influence by winning seven straight points to get a break of serve.
The Italian then served for the match at 5-4, but Djokovic managed to save three match points in the 10th game. However, Musetti was finally able to convert his fourth match point as Djokovic hit his return into the net. Lorenzo Musetti also fired a few aces in the final set, which helped his cause.
Djokovic went to the net as many as 26 times in the match to try to shorten the rallies _ something he does not do as frequently _ and won 19 of those points. There were some sublime drop shots from the Serb as well, but Lorenzo Musetti deserved to win on the day.
“I cannot say nothing.” ❌
Novak Djokovic was not in the mood to speak after his loss in Monte Carlo 🔇 pic.twitter.com/DgQZdMkRDT
— Eurosport (@eurosport) April 13, 2023
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
