‘
MONTE CARLO (AFP) – Novak Djokovic was knocked out in the last 16 of the Monte Carlo Masters by Lorenzo Musetti in three sets on Thursday after the world No. 1 struggled badly on serve.
Djokovic, a two-time winner in the Principality in 2013 and 2015, was broken eight times before going down 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 to the 21st-ranked Musetti on a wet and chilly day on the Cote d’Azur.
“(The) feeling is terrible after playing like this, honestly. But congrats to him. He stayed tough in important moments, and that’s it,” said Djokovic.
The Serb led by a set and a break against Musetti, but the Italian youngster fought back in a scrappy second set and then prevailed in the decider after rain interrupted the match for an hour.
Musetti advances to a quarter-final meeting with compatriot Jannik Sinner, who saved a match point before beating Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1.
Djokovic, the big favorite in the absence of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, surged 5-2 ahead in the opening set. He dropped serve as he tried to close it out before breaking Musetti for a third time.
The top seed again looked in control at 4-2 in the second but was broken easily in a game that started with Djokovic justifiably unhappy over a line call that went against him.
“I am struggling not to cry because it is a dream for me,” said Musetti, who led Djokovic by two sets at Roland Garros in 2021 before having to retire.
“Beating Novak is something remarkable for me.”
French Open finalist Casper Ruud also bowed out after suffering a 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) defeat to German Jan-Lennard Struff, who has beaten the Norwegian on all three occasions they have met.
The 100th-ranked Struff — who came through the qualifiers — will play Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals after the Russian beat his compatriot Karen Khachanov 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.
The in-form Daniil Medvedev saved two match points in a final-set tie-break to outlast Alexander Zverev 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (9/7) under the lights.
Zverev served for the match in the second set and again in the third before Medvedev once more wriggled out of trouble in the tie-break to record his 26th win in 27 matches.
His next opponent is Denmark’s ninth-ranked Holger Rune, who moved into the last eight after Matteo Berrettini withdrew due to a muscular problem the Italian suffered during his previous match.
Two-time defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas breezed through his third-round match, the Greek swatting aside Chile’s Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 6-4.
Tsitsipas goes on to face Taylor Fritz after the American eighth seed defeated Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic in three sets.
