CNN
—
Novak Djokovic suffered a shock defeat within the Monte Carlo Masters round-of-16 Thurday with the Serb falling to a 4-6 7-5 6-4 loss by the hands of Italian 21-year-old Lorenzo Musetti.
Djokovic, 35, regarded out of kinds from the beginning of the rain-affected clay court docket tie and world No.21 Musetti went on to interrupt his serve eight instances through the two-hour and 54-minute match.
The Serb uncharacteristically allowed Musetti to commerce breaks with him all through the opening set, earlier than ultimately seizing management.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner then took a 4-2 lead within the second set, and it regarded like the sport was going the way in which many had anticipated with the No. 1 ranked participant in cost.
Nevertheless, Musetti had different concepts and battled his method again into the sport to degree the tie.
Within the deciding set, the Italian broke his opponent’s serve earlier than happening to transform his fourth match level to seal the upset.
Talking on court docket after the sport, Musetti tried to include his feelings, saying: “I’m struggling to not cry.”
The victor continued: “It’s an emotional win as a result of it was a extremely lengthy match … I’m actually happy with myself. I’m struggling to not cry as a result of it’s a dream for me.”
Djokovic instructed reporters he was “probably not within the temper to talk” and felt “horrible” following his loss.
The shock defeat will likely be a trigger for concern for two-time Monte Carlo Masters champion Djokovic as that is certainly one of his key occasions in his preparation for the French Open.
Musetti will now play fellow Italian teen Jannik Sinner within the subsequent spherical.
Like Musetti, Sinner additionally needed to win from behind to safe his place within the quarterfinal. The Italian beat Hubert Hurkacz 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1.
Sinner will go into the sport in opposition to Musetti as favourite however after seeing his compatriot’s round-of-16 victory, the seventh seed will know he needs to be at his greatest.
