Win against Novak Djokovic in Monte-Carlo is unforgettable, says Lorenzo Musetti

Lorenzo Musetti has expressed his pride and happiness at defeating Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Mante-Carlo Masters.

Musetti came from a set down to defeat Djokovic 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in two hours and 54 minutes at the Monte-Carlo Masters to reach his second career Masters 1000 quarterfinal. He broke the Serbian eight times and secured the win on his fourth match point.

Looking back on his win against the 22-time Grand Slam champion, Musetti called it an ‘unforgettable experience’ and stated that he was happy to share it with his team and his girlfriend.

“At the end I was so tired, it was so intense the match. And of course the energy at the end was crazy because even there, even if it was not the brightest day for the weather because we stopped, we suspended for rain was like one hour back,” he said, speaking to Prakash Amritraj on Tennis Channel.

“But all the crowd was there cheering for me because, you know, Monaco and Italia. It's really close,” he added. “So a lot of Italians were there. Sharing my first victory against number one in the world, and especially Novak, with my team and with my girlfriend was something really unforgettable.”

The Italian also said that the win against Djokovic gave him an adrenaline boost that helped him to well at the Barcelona Open, where he reached the semifinals.

“I was not playing that great at the beginning of the year. I had month and half that I was struggling a bit, especially South America, Indian Wells and Miami, they didn't went great. I went to Marrakech to play matches because I wanted to feel the form more,” he explained.

“Monte-Carlo it’s like a sort of adrenaline running through your blood and I played really great in Barcelona the week after because you know I was still pumping from the win against Nole. I think that kind of victory you will remember for the rest of your life and I think you will take as a lesson for the rest of your life,” he concluded.

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Lorenzo Musetti through to Italian Open 3R, to face Frances Tiafoe

The Italian is through to the third round of the 2023 Italian Open.

Lorenzo Musetti began his 2023 Italian Open campaign by beating his compatriot and wildcard recipient Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Having gotten through to the third round, he has matched his best performance at the event — a third-round exit in 2020 after getting to the main draw via the qualifiers.

Musetti will next face Frances Tiafoe in Rome, who registered a hard-fought win against German qualifier Daniel Altmaier. The American came from a set down to prevail 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

The 21-year-old Italian is looking forward to the clash with the ‘tricky’ Tiafoe and hopes to use the crowd's support to progress to the fourth round.

“Francis is really a nice guy, on the court and outside. He’s really a tricky player. He can play really incredible tennis. We faced each other many times and we had really nice battles. And hopefully tomorrow will be the same, but I will say that the for sure the crowd will give me that extra motivation to do better,” he said.

Musetti and Tiafoe have faced each other twice before, with each player winning once. Musetti won their Round of 16 encounter in Acapulco in 2021, while Tiafoe won their last clash at the United Cup earlier this year.