By Tim Parsons-
Novak Djokovic was feeling moody after suffering a shock early defeat at the Monte Carlo Masters, but insisted he would bounce back
The 35-year-old world number one was playing his 50th main-draw match at the tournament, but it did not go to plan as he lost 4-6 7-5 6-4 to Italian Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday.
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The world No 1 surrendered a one-set and 4-2 lead to lose a rain-interrupted match in Monaco. Djokovic struggled to find his best level in the windy conditions on Court Rainier III, the 22-times grand slam champion dropping serve eight times as his French Open preparations suffered a blow.
21-year-old Musetti secured the decisive break in the seventh game after the match had been put on hold due to the interfering weather.
Djokovic’s post-match reaction exposed huge frustration, with his first competitive outing
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“I am struggling not to cry,” Musetti said in his on-court interview after victory was sealed in two hours and 54 minutes on court. “It is an emotional win because it was a really long match. It was not easy conditions because it was a little bit windy and cold – not like we used to play in the recent days.
“I am really proud of myself,” the world No 21 added. “I am struggling not to cry because it is a dream for me. Beating Novak is something remarkable for me.”
He had endured a challenging couple of months after being forced to miss the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments last month when he was denied permission to enter the United States due to his refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination.
The Serb had faced severe criticism during the heights of the pandemic in 2021 when he was deported from Australia over vaccination issues and false declarations he made in his visa application forms.
However, he had bounced from that nightmare to win his 10th Australian Open title a few months back in January.
Defeat on this occassion marked the first time Djokovic had failed to reach the quarter-finals in a tournament since last year’s Monte Carlo event, when he lost his opening match to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The loss to Musetti included an argument with the umpire over a line call, while Djokovic also smashed a racket in frustration at one point.
“The feeling is terrible after playing like this, honestly,” Djokovic said. “But congrats to him. He stayed tough in important moments, and that’s it.
“You always hope for the good day in the office, but I know I’m not playing so great and he’s playing very well, so I knew it was going to be a tough match.
“I don’t think it’s catastrophic, but my feeling is bad right now because I lost the match. It’s not a great day for me, so I’m not really in the mood to speak.”
Djokovic is a two-time former winner of the ATP 1000 event but has not reached the semi-final stage since 2015, the year he was last champion.
He continues his clay campaign at a low level tournament next week in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Musetti moved on to face fellow Italian Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals. Victory over Djokovic made Musetti the first Italian man to beat the world number one in Monte Carlo since 1973, when the ATP rankings began.
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