Monte Carlo Masters: World no. 1 Novak Djokovic loses to 21-year-old Lorenzo Musetti

In a major upset at the Monte Carlo Masters, World No.1 Novak Djokovic was ousted in the round of 16 by 21-year-old Lorenzo Musetti.

Musetti came back from a set down to score the biggest win of his career. It was the youngster's first win in 4 meetings against the 22-time Grand Slam Champion.

Having dominated the first set, Djokovic lost control of the tie in the second set, dropping his serve five times as both players struggled with accuracy in windy conditions.

The match was suspended due to rain for about an hour with the score 6-4, 5-7, 1-1 and Djokovic up 40-30 on his serve. Musetti though broke for a 4-3 lead and completed the win on his fourth match point, taking the final set 6-4.

The 21-year-old shook his head in disbelief after his triumph over the Serb.

‘I am struggling not to cry,’ Musetti said in his on-court interview. The Italian went on to add that the win was an emotional one because of the duration of the match as well as the windy and cold conditions.

‘I am really proud of myself and I can see on the screen. I am struggling not to cry because it is a dream for me,’ Musetti said.

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Novak Djokovic, on the other hand, after a poor performance revealed in his post-match conference, ‘Well, feeling terrible, after playing like this, honestly. But congrats to him. He stayed tough in important moments, and that's it. That's all I can say. Good luck to him.’

A two-time champion at Monte Carlo, Djokovic lost his opening match on the French Cote d'Azur last year and exited the tournament in the third round in 2021.

Lorenzo Musetti will now face fellow Italian Jannik Sinner in the quarter-final.

In other Monte Carlo close fights, Daniil Medvedev survived a dramatic late-night marathon against Alexander Zverev on Thursday, where the third seed rallied to a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(7) victory to reach the quarterfinals.

Zverev served for the match at 5-4 in both the second and third sets and let slip two match points in the deciding set tie-break, unable to see off the ever-persistent Medvedev.