Novak Djokovic has been off to a great start in the 2024 Monte Carlo Masters. He defeated Russia’s Roman Safiullin in his first match of the tournament.
It was a pretty one-sided match that he won 6-1, 6-2 in no time. With this, he has now proceeded to the round of 16 with ease. However, the Serb is cautious and does not want to get too ahead of himself.
Well, the 24-time Grand Slam champion also has a valid reason to be this cautious in this tournament. His results in the previous tournaments that he has played so far this season have not been that good, and thus the Serb needs to focus on one match at a time right now. He has only played in two tournaments in 2024 before the Monte Carlo Masters.
It’s a great start. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and put the hopes too high. It’s only one match, but the way I felt, I’m really pleased. It’s just the beginning of the tournament. It’s one match. I’m going to hope to work tomorrow to maintain that rhythm and focus, obviously, try to perform as well as I did in the second match as I did today.
Djokovic said. (Source: ATP)
He first lost to Jannik Sinner in the semi-final of the Australian Open, which was the first time that he lost in a semifinal match of the Happy Slam.
Then he went on to lose to Luca Nardi in the round of 32 of the Indian Wells, which was an absolute shocker. He thus must make a comeback in the Monte Carlo Masters and seems to be fixated on that goal.
Novak Djokovic faces Lorenzo Musetti in the round of 16 of the Monte-Carlo Masters
Now that Novak Djokovic has won his first match of the tournament, he will face Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the round of 16.
The two players have faced each other a total of four times before, and the Serb is currently 3-1 ahead in the head-to-head battle. Djokovic won all of their last three encounters, and Musetti’s only victory against him came in the 2021 French Open when the Serb had to give a walkover from a winning position.
Thus, the 36-year-old is the clear favorite to win this match today. With Carlos Alcaraz now having withdrawn from the tournament, Novak Djokovic is expected to get a clear path to the finals, where he might face Jannik Sinner.
That will be worth watching if it really does take place. The last time these two players met, i.e., in the semifinal of the Australian Open, it was a battle worth remembering.