Novak Djokovic recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since the Australian Open, after he outplayed Lorenzo Musetti at the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters.
The Serbian player knows how it feels to win a title at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo, but in the recent decade, he has been far from successful in the Principality.
Djokovic downplayed expectations ahead of the tournament, but his second-round win over Roman Safiullin was quite dominant, but his third-round opponent was a well-known one.
Last year, Djokovic was stunned by Musetti, and he certainly wanted to avenge that loss this year, and he did that well, even despite a low start into this third-round match.
The Italian had a perfect start, breaking in the opening game of the match, and keeping the advantage for a big part of the first set, having another break point at 3-1 to go into a two-break lead.
However, Musetti couldn't use that chance, and it would prove to be costly only a few game slater when he wasted a 40-0 lead on his serve, as Djokovic broke him back and added one more break late in the set to win it 7-5.
The second set was up and down for both players. The 24-time major winner broke for a one-break lead multiple times, but his opponent broke back every time.
That was until the eighth game. Djokovic broke for the third time, but this time around, he confirmed it with a hold to love, which meant that he won the game, set, and match, 7-5, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters.
Up next, the 36-year-old player will face a proper challenge in the eleventh-seeded Alex de Minaur, who outplayed Stan Wawrinka, Tallon Griekspoor, and Alexei Popyrin on his way to the last eight.
0 Comments