Big surprise in Montecarlo: Novak Djokovic was eliminated by an intractable Lorenzo Musetti

Huge bump in the Monte Carlo Masters 1000. Novak Djokovicthe number one in the world and the most loved, he was fired in the round of 16 falling in three sets a Lorenzo Musettoseeded 16 and one of the jewels of the Next generation. The 21-year-old Italian got strong tennis and mentally against one of the best players of all time and rallied a set to nil to win by 4-6, 7-5 and 6-4in a game delayed by rain early in the fourth quarter.

It was the most beautiful victory of his short career for the young Carrara, 21st classified in the world, who will now face his compatriot Jannik sinnerseventh seed and winner 3-6, 7-6 (8-6) and 6-1 of the Pole Hubert Hurkacz.

“I’m Struggling Not to Cry”, assured Musetti in the classic interview on the field after the victory. “It’s an exciting victory because it was a very long game. Almost three hours and suspended due to rain. The conditions weren’t easy, different from how we had played in recent days. I’m very proud. I’m fighting not to cry because it’s a dream for me. my”.

For Freight, who had his moment of fury in the second set, the defeat was a blow to his return to the circuit after a month of inactivity. In the same way he will feed his standings and establish himself at the top, given that he defended little (last year he fell on his debut).

The Serbian was looking for his third title on Monegasque clay (he won in 2013 and 2015) and was only one party away from signing the triple Gold Masters, an accomplishment that requires winning all nine tournaments in this category at least once. He is missing third in this race and in Cincinnati to reach it for the third time in his career. That unprecedented record he will have to wait.

Djokovic had just beaten the unknown Russian 7-6 (7-5) and 6-2 with a lot of effort Ivan Gakhov, 198th in the standings and coming from qualifying. And also this Thursday he didn’t have it easy against his young and talented rival; in a complicated game, moreover, due to the cold, the wind and the rain.

From the beginning it was clear that Nole would not be the overwhelming player, who doesn’t give chances to his opponents and dominates the match as he pleases. Number one was quite irregular, even if it was Italian; and the result was a back-and-forth opening set.

The Serbian broke first and it was 3-1, but he couldn’t avoid Musetti’s reaction, who returned the courtesies (2-3). Djokovic answered with another break (4-2); he gives up his serve again in the ninth game, when he was serving for the set (4-5); and ended it by closing it with another break, in the next game.

The second chapter started the same way: four breaks in four games (two on each side), to leave the score at 2-2. Nole then managed to take the lead 4-2 by stealing Musetti’s serve in the sixth. But the Italian reacted quickly again and drew 4-4.

By that point in the match it was clear that Djokovic was feeling very uncomfortable on the pitch as he couldn’t find a way to take control of the match. And he made it clear in the eighth game. When the Italian served 3-4 and 0-15, a ball, which the referee defined as good but which Nole saw as bad (television replay showed he was right), sparked an argument that lasted several minutes between the two. And after the end of the match, the still angry Serbian smashed a racket that was leaning on his bench with his foot.

The development of the set has not changed. Break by Musetti, counterbreak by Djokovic -who added 11 unforced errors in that chapter- and new break by the young Italian who takes up 6-5 and condemns the set.

In the third, stopped for almost an hour due to bad weather after a 1-1 draw, Musetti continued to play aggressive tennis and worry Djokovic with deep shots and changes of direction. Even with the more pressing Serbian, the Italian only managed to take the lead in the seventh game, in which he broke through and went ahead 4-3.

Freight he held on to the game and put his rival to work in the last game. The Serbian had a break point that he couldn’t exploit and Musetti needed four match points to seal the victory, after two hours and 54 minutes of play.

For him it was the first against the Serbian, who had won the three duels he had played before, at Roland Garros 2021 and Dubai and Paris 2022.

“The feeling is terrible after playing like this, sincerely, but we must congratulate Lorenzo. He kept his position in the important moments. That’s all I can say right now, good luck to him” Djokovic commented visibly offended and dumbfounded during the press conference.

“It hasn’t been a great day for me, so I’m not in the mood to talk.“, commented the number one, who committed 23 unforced errors in the entire match (against his rival’s six).

“One always hopes to have a good day at the office, but yeah, I know I’m not playing very well right now and he’s playing very well, so I knew from the start it was going to be a difficult match,” he analysed. “My feeling now is bad, but losing here is not catastrophic“.

Djokovic has arrived in Monte Carlo after a break of over a month. He had played his last match in early March when he fell to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals in Dubai. Then he missed Indian Wells and Miami, because he was unable to enter the United States because he was not vaccinated against Covid-19.

On the Monegasque brick he hoped to find his competitive rhythm and refine his game in advance Roland Garroseven if he couldn’t play much.

The Serbian, champion this year in Adelaide and in Australia, will not give up any points or endanger his number one due to the crash. Also, the distance will increase with Carlos Alcarazsecond, who withdrew from the tournament due to injury and was unable to defend the 10 units he reached in 2022. Even if the low level of tennis he showed in his two matches and this defeat against Musetti does not bode well considering his chances of win the French Grand Slam and add his 23rd title in that category in Paris, one of the big goals of his season.

Another surprise: Ruud, eliminated

The other big surprise on Thursday in Monte Carlo was the crash of Casper Ruudfourth favourite. The Norwegian lost 6-1 and 7-6 (8-6) against the German Jan Lennard Struff100th in the standings and coming from qualifying, which added his first win against a top 10 player since June 2021.

The German ended a streak of nine wins for Ruud on clay. The 2022 Roland Garros runner-up had won his last two tournaments on this surface, in which he is considered a specialist: Gstaad in July and Estoril last week.

In the quarterfinals Struff will face the Russian Andrei Rublevfinalist in 2021, who beat his compatriot Karen Khachanova for 7-6 (7-4) and 6-2.

Whoever keeps advancing steadfastly is Stephen Tsitsipas, winner of the last two editions of the Monaco tournament. The Greek, second favorite, beat the Chilean 6-3 and 6-4 Nicholas Jarrywithout suffering a single break. Now he will look for the pass for the semifinal against the American Taylor Fritz8th, who beat the Czech 4-6, 6-4 and 6-1 Jiri Lehecka.

Meanwhile, the Danish Rune HolgerSeeded sixth, she made the top eight without playing, after a drop by Matthew Berrettini. The blue withdrew from the tournament with a torn internal oblique muscle sustained during the match he beat on Wednesday Francis Cerundolo.

Rune awaits the winner of the clash between Russians Daniel Medvedev (3rd favourite) and the German Alexander Zverev (13th), which close the day.