In preparation for his match against Lorenzo Musetti in the third round of the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters, Novak Djokovic has expressed his optimism.At the Masters 1000 tournament in Monte-Carlo, Djokovic got off to a quick start in the clay-court season, defeating Roman Safiullin 6-1, 6-2 in just one hour and ten minutes.
The highly anticipated third-round match between the Serb and Lorenzo Musetti will take place next, setting up a rematch of their meeting from the previous year, in which Musetti shocked the world No. 1 by defeating him.Before the much awaited match, Novak Djokovic was questioned if he was “scared” about playing Musetti, given his past experiences with Italians—he lost to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open and was upset by Luca Nardi at Indian Wells.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion, however, downplayed these worries and insisted that he wasn’t afraid to take on any opponent. After securing his victory ahead of Musetti’s, he expressed his want for the 22-year-old to proceed to the third round in order for them to face each other again.
“I’m not scared of anything and anybody, but I really hope that I can get the chance to play him again and get another matchup here,” the Serb said in his post-match press conference.
The gifted Italian received high accolades from the Serb as well, who praised his remarkable mobility and one-handed backhand.