"He's still Novak" - Lorenzo Musetti hails Novak Djokovic ahead of Monte-Carlo Masters clash

Lorenzo Musetti feels that a month-long layoff and getting used to a new surface are not barriers for Novak Djokovic as the rising Italian star readies himself to face the Serbian tennis great in the third round of the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters. Musetti hailed the World No. 1, further opining that he does not need many matches under his belt to get used to clay-courts this season.

On Tuesday, Djokovic played his first match on the red dirt since a quarterfinals defeat at last year's French Open at the hands of his great rival, Rafael Nadal. It was also his first match on tour since early March. The Serb termed his 7-6(5), 6-2 victory over Russian qualifier Ivan Gakhov an "ugly tennis win," and later suggested that he needs more matches on the surface to feel more comfortable.

While Musetti feels every player needs more match-time to feel confident after switching surfaces, he highlighted why he believes Djokovic is an exception to the same.

"Yeah, for sure everyone needs matches when we change surface, but he's still No. 1 in the world," Lorenzo Musetti said in a press conference after his Round of 32 win on Wednesday.

"He started the year I think pretty well, winning another Australian Open (smiling), you know, winning a lot of matches."

The 21-year-old aims to approach the match with the mindset needed to face the World No. 1 and a player of the caliber of Djokovic, not someone who is short on match-time on clay.

"Even if being out for a month or even more, he's still Novak. So I have to be ready to beat the No. 1 in the world, not one guy who needs to prepare the clay season," continued Musetti.

"So I think I have to enter the court with the right mentality, with the right mindset to beat the No. 1 in the world, not to beat someone who is preparing the clay season."

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"One of the toughest match in the draw" - Lorenzo Musetti on facing Novak Djokovic at Monte-Carlo Masters

Novak Djokovic celebrates his opening match win at 2023 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

Lorenzo Musetti will enter the match on the back of a highly impressive 6-0, 6-0 victory over fellow Italian Luca Nardi. The 16th seed, who has not been in good form so far this season, aims to pick up from where he left off on Wednesday in the Round of 16 clash with Novak Djokovic on Thursday at the Monte-Carlo Masters. Musetti admitted that he will need to perform at his best, especially mentally, against the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

"Hopefully tomorrow I will stay like this, especially on the mental part and will be probably one of the toughest match in the draw, so hopefully I can be ready for tomorrow," Musetti expressed.

Musetti has not beaten Djokovic in three attempts so far. However, in their only meeting on clay, the Italian stretched the two-time French Open champion to five sets in a fourth-round clash at the 2021 French Open. Musetti held a two-sets-to-love lead before losing 7-6(7), 7-6(2), 1-6, 0-6, 0-4(ret).