Masters Monte Carlo – Novak Djokovic lets off steam in the match against Musetti: crush rackets, debate on the court

The first excitement that threw Djokovic out of the concept happened in the middle of the second set when Djokovic was 4: 3. A ball from Musetti seemed to sail past the baseline, but the linesman passed the ball well, angering the world number one.

Djokovic didn’t want to believe that the Italian’s forehand had landed in the field and started a loud discussion with chair umpire Aurélie Tourte. However, she stuck to her decision and awarded the point to Musetti.

Especially bitter, because the Hawk-Eye, which was only shown to the spectators, showed that the ball was well behind the baseline and the point should have gone to Djokovic.

A little later, when the score was 5:5 in the second set, the next sensational scene happened. The Serb couldn’t contain his emotions after a devious backhand at breakball against himself and kicked one of his racquets together on the way back to the bench. The referee then imposed a suspension on Djokovic.

Djokovic: “The feeling is terrible”

The world number one seemed unusually nervous in the round of 16 and easily upset. Musetti took advantage of this and forced Djokovic to make a lot of mistakes. After two sets, the 22-time Grand Slam champion had won just 26 percent of the points on the second serve and had already been broken seven times.

After the match, Djokovic found clear words about his 6: 4, 5: 7, 4: 6 defeat against Musetti. “To be honest, the feeling is terrible after playing like that. Congratulations to him, he remained stable in important moments,” said the frustrated Serb.

Despite the mixed performance, Djokovic is optimistic about the upcoming tournaments. “I don’t think it’s catastrophic but I feel bad at the moment because I lost the match,” Djokovic said, adding: “That’s all. Congratulations to my opponent. I’ll keep going.”

Next, the world number one wants to take part in the Srpska Open in Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina) next week and play there for the title.