Novak Djokovic is probably the last person on the ATP Tour who should be scared of his opponents, but still, he was asked the question at the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters.
Standing on the tennis court against a 24-time major winner is a scary thought for many tennis players, especially those who don't have much experience with playing at the biggest stages.
Going from the cosy atmosphere on Court 9 to the epicentre of emotions on the Centre Court can be intimidating enough, even without having to face statistically the most successful tennis player of all time.
However, Djokovic is not the youngest anymore, and in recent months, he's lost more matches than he was used to, and coincidentally, many of his losses had one denominator - they were against Italian players.
Last year, Jannik Sinner managed to outplay the Serbian at the ATP Finals and then at the Davis Cup Finals, and the Italian bested him also this year at the Australian Open.
Only a few weeks later, Djokovic lost to Luca Nardi, who is another Italian player, and at the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters, he will play against yet another Italian player, Lorenzo Musetti.
The Italian actually bested him last year in Monte Carlo, so it will be an interesting clash, and ahead of the match, the reigning world no. 1 was asked whether he was scared of facing an Italian, to what he gave a resounding answer.
"I'm not scared of anything and anybody, but I really hope that I can get the chance to play him again, get the matchup, another matchup here. He obviously is, you know, one of the most talented players on clay, a beautiful one-handed backhand."
"He's very athletic. He can do a lot of great things. He's one of the most promising young players not only from Italy but generally for the world."
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