The 21-year-old Italian won the match in two hours and 54 minutes by taking advantage of Djokovic's poor serving while playing in wet and windy conditions.
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At the Monte-Carlo Masters on Thursday, Lorenzo Musetti defeated World No. 1 Novak Djokovic 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 to advance to his second ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal, recording the biggest victory of his career. The 21-year-old Italian won the match in two hours and 54 minutes by taking advantage of Djokovic’s poor serving while playing in wet and windy conditions on Court Rainier III. The Italian broke the Serbian eight times during the match.
“I am struggling not to cry,” Musetti said in his on-court interview. “It is an emotional win because it was a really long match. Three-hour match and suspended by rain. It was not easy conditions because it was a little bit windy and cold. Not like we used to play in the recent days. I am really proud of myself and I can see on the screen. I am struggling not to cry because it is a dream for me.”
“I couldn’t find the right balance on [serve]. Particularly with the toss. I think we were returning better than serving,” Musetti said. “The rallies at the end were really intense and really long and it was a tough battle. Even for the physical and mental part. Beating Novak is something remarkable for me.”
Musetti rallied from 2-4 in the second set to tie after losing the first set. After a 59-minute rain delay at the start of the decider, he continued to play with intensity and flair to earn the second Top 5 victory of his career. He hit with aggression and depth to force Djokovic into 11 unforced errors in the set.
“I don’t think it’s catastrophic, but my feeling is bad right now because I lost the match,” Djokovic said. “That’s all. Congrats to my opponent. I move on.”
“Well, [my] feeling is terrible after playing like this, honestly,” the Serbian added. “But congrats to him. He stayed tough in important moments, and that’s it. That’s all I can say. Good luck to him. You always hope for the good day in the office. But yeah, I know I’m not playing so great and he’s playing very well, so I knew it was going to be a tough match. “
In order to advance to the third round of the Monte-Carlo Masters on Wednesday, Taylor Fritz defeated former champion Stan Wawrinka 7-6(10), 6-2, earning his 50th ATP Masters 1000 victory. The American prevailed in a match that lasted two sets after he saved five set points in a hefty first set to advance. The victory took an hour and 39 minutes. Fritz, who saved three set points in the first set tie-break and two set points on serve at 5-6, hit 25 winners for his 21st tour-level victory of the year while making just seven unforced errors.
The eighth seed defeated Jiri Lehecka, the Czech who defeated 2022 semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(4), 6-4, and will look to repeat his quarterfinal performance from the Principality. Fritz made it to the quarterfinals in Miami before travelling to Monte-Carlo. In Indian Wells in 2021, he won the ATP Masters 1000 championship for the first time. Wawrinka was competing in the clay-court tournament for the thirteenth time, with his best performance being a title run in 2014.
