Novak Djokovic recently took a hilarious dig in response to the booing crowd during his third-round match against Lorenzo Musetti at the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters.
Djokovic started his clay-court campaign in Monte-Carlo by defeating Russia’s Roman Safiullin 6-1, 6-2 in 70 minutes. The top seed then faced Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the third round, against whom he had lost in the third round of the same tournament last year.
The match started with Musetti breaking Djokovic’s serve in the very first game and maintaining a lead till 4-3. However, a line call in the Italian's favor irked the Serb, who believed the shot was out. As he expressed his disagreement with the umpire, the crowd started booing him.
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Unfazed, the 24-time Grand Slam champion responded not with words, but with a playful imitation of an orchestra conductor. The World No. 1 then went on to break Musetti's serve and eventually won the match 7-5, 6-3 in an hour and 58 minutes.
The drama didn’t end on the court. The Serb took to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, April 11, to share a picture of his impromptu performance. The image, which shows the 36-year-old mimicking the motions of a conductor, was captioned:
"I dedicate this victory to the orchestra."
Novak Djokovic will take on Alex de Minaur at the Monte-Carlo Masters QF
Novak Djokovic will face 11th seed Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals at the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters on Friday, April 12.
The Serb has won the title in Monte-Carlo twice, in 2013 and 2015. The World No. 1 has also reached the finals twice (2009 and 2012), the semifinals thrice (2008, 2010, and 2014), and the quarterfinals twice (2017 and 2019).
On the other hand, De Minaur has dropped only one set in this tournament so far. The Aussie defeated three-time Grand Slam champion, Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-0 in the second round. He outclassed Tallon Griekspoor 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the third. In the Round of 16, the Aussie defeated compatriot Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 15 minutes.
Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur have faced each other twice before, with both players winning one match each. Their first encounter was at the 2023 Australian Open where the Serb emerged victorious in the Round of 16 with a score of 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. However, De Minaur avenged his loss in their next meeting at the 2024 United Cup quarterfinal where he won 6-4, 6-4.
The winner of this match will face either 14th seed Ugo Humbert or three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud in the semifinal on Saturday, April 13.
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