Italian Lorenzo Musetti stunned World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the third round at the Monte Carlo Masters with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 win on Thursday to reach his second career ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal.
In a match interrupted by rain, the 21-year-old Musetti broke Djokovic’s serve eight times in the two-hour, 54-minute match. With Djokovic leading 4-2 in the second set, Musetti shifted gears, and his aggressive play forced the Serbian into 11 unforced errors in the set and 23 overall.
Musetti had 28 winners and six unforced errors on the day.
“I am struggling not to cry,” Musetti said in an interview on the court following the match. “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. … I am struggling not to cry because it is a dream for me.”
Italian Jannik Sinner, the seventh seed, ousted 10th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1 and will face Musetti in the quarterfinals.
In other action, second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas cruised into the quarterfinals, topping Nicolas Jarry of Chile 6-3, 6-4.
For Tsitsipas, the match was a continuation of his dominance at the clay courts of Monte Carlo. The back-to-back defending champion,Tsitsipas moved his winning streak to 12 games with the 93-minute win over Jarry.
Tsitsipas won 80 percent of the points on his first serve and saved both break points. After the match, he was pleased with how he overcame his few adversities.
“I had to deal with a few [tough] points, especially when he had break points,” Tsitsipas said. “I dealt with those situations very maturely and played precisely, so it was great out there.”
Tsitispas moved to 14-2 overall in Monte Carlo. In the quarterfinals, he’ll face eighth-seeded Taylor Fritz, who came back from a set down to beat Czech Jiri Lehecka 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Andrey Rublev, the fifth seed, eliminated fellow Russian Karen Khachanov 7-6 (4), 6-2 to advance. Rublev had to overcome the emotions of playing an old friend as well as the wind, and eventually found his groove, finishing with 22 winners and seven unforced errors against 14 and 11, respectively, for the ninth seed.
“We know each other too well. The first set was only mental. We didn’t show some tennis skills,” Rublev said. “But it was tough to show skills because the wind was really hard and the court was slippery and it was tough to do something. The first set was super mental. As soon as I was able to win a set, I started to feel more free and I felt Karen felt more down, so that was the difference.”
Rublev, who is looking for his first ATP Masters 1000, next will face meet Jan-Lennard Struff. The German qualifier upset fourth seed Casper Ruud 6-1, 7-6 (8) in one hour and 45 minutes to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final since Cincinnati in 2020.
–Field Level Media