Despite having gone through a resounding moment at the start of the 2024 season, Novak Djokovic He made it very clear who is the number one in the world after defeating the Italian Lorenzo Musetti by 7-5, 6-3 and entered the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000.
In a complicated match with some spicy encounters, Nole showed that bad streaks don’t last forever. Little by little he is awakening the beast, having taken his first step in his debut in the tournament with Aleksandar Vukicwho received him with a difficult fight that ended with the Serbian’s victory 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
A few weeks after ending his relationship with his coach Goran Ivanisevicwith whom he won 12 Grand Slams, Djokovic gave the present in Monaco with his compatriot Nenad Zimonjicthe former world number one.
With a new coach on this date and a hunger for revenge, Djokovic managed to come back in the match against Musetti, number 24 in the ranking, who exactly a year ago eliminated the Serbian from these same courts in the third round. Despite feeling a little unfocused in the first games, Nole turned the score around being a break down and receiving whistles from the Italian public who were cheering on his rival.
It seems that this only served as an energizer for him to take the reins of the game. While Djokovic questioned the Italian’s hitting a ball, saying that he had clearly hit it outside the lines, The audience began to whistle and boo him, but Nole only laughed.. He instantly urged the spectators to continue booing him, making gestures that he was not hearing clearly. And to close, He transformed himself into an orchestra conductor, directing the whistles with his hands. and a smile that promised much more.
From that moment on, a click that turned the whole game around. With the help of his new coach, who managed to guide the Serbian to get his revenge, Djokovic got two breaks at key moments, taking the first set from Musetti. “There was a small exchange with the public at 4-3, 40/0 for him and from then on the dynamic changed,” Djokovic said after the match.
During the second set there were a couple of obstacles that he was able to overcome to finally take the victory. “We saw a bit of a rollercoaster in the second set, so I’m happy that staying strong and aggressive in the tight moments has paid off.”, analyzed the Serbian about his performance.
In a post-match press conference, Djokovic spoke in more detail about the exchange with the spectators: “I try to transform the energy into something that is constructive for me. I don’t look for problems with the public. If they start whistling at me, I’ll play better. It’s not my kind of mentality, but if people start reacting in a certain way that I don’t think I deserve, that I feel isn’t fair or explainable, I will react,” the 36-year-old Serbian admitted.
His next meeting is with the Australian Alex de Miñaurwho defeated his compatriot Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-4 and became the first quarterfinalist of the tournament and the first Australian in 25 years to reach this stage of the tournament.
Sinner remains strong
Jannik Sinner gave no room for surprises. The Italian, second favorite and the best player of the season so far, needed just one hour and 16 minutes to beat Jan Lennard Struff and reach the Monte Carlo quarterfinals. He went 6-4 and 6-2 to meet the Danish Holger Rune in that instance and be one win away from securing number two in the ranking.
With 85 percent effectiveness with his first serve (he won 22 of 26 points played that way), four breaks for and only one against (at the start of the first set), Sinner dominated an opponent who is usually very strong on clay and that he had beaten Sebastián Báez in his debut.
“I had already played with him and knew what to expect, but he is still a dangerous opponent. Against him, you always have to be careful, especially in three sets. I take it as a good victory. I am happy,” analyzed the San Candido native 22 years ago.
The Italian, champion in Australia, Rotterdam and Miami in a year in which he has lost only one match (in the semis of Indian Wells against Carlos Alcaraz), reached the quarterfinals in the Principality for the third consecutive season. He is the fourth youngest player to reach the top eight of this tournament in three consecutive seasons, after Mats Wilander, Rafael Nadal and Bjorn Borg.
With the aim of reaching the semis so as not to lose the second step of the ranking in the hands of Alcaraz, Sinner will now face Rune, who signed a double and dropped Grigor Dimitrov.
The seventh-seeded Dane had to take the court early to complete his match against Indian Sumit Nagal, from qualifying, which had been suspended on Wednesday due to rain in the second set. And he had to wait until the third to close it 6-3, 3-6 and 6-2. Meanwhile, Dimitrov, ninth seed, dismissed Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-3, in another duel pending from the previous day.
A while later, Rune and Dimitrov starred in a real battle of three and a half hours, in which the 20-year-old Dane saved two match points before sealing his victory 7-6 (11-9), 3-6 and 7 -6 (7-2).
2024-04-11 21:53:19
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