This year, the executioner of the Serb is the young Italian Lorenzo Musetti (21 years old and 21st in the world) who won 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Enough to plunge Djokovic into disarray. "What I feel after playing like that, it's really horrible... But congratulations to him, he was able to stay solid in the important moments. That is all I can say. Good luck to him," commented the +Djoker+ of the bad days.
Holder of the record of 38 Masters 1000 titles, the world N.1 has won the Monegasque tournament only twice, in 2013 and 2015, and has not gone beyond the quarters since.
The planets seemed aligned this year. In addition to the two great absentees Alcaraz and Nadal, he took advantage of the fact that his opponents, having played the Masters 1000 on hard courts of Indian Wells and Miami, were rediscovering clay on the occasion of this first major tournament of the season on this surface. He had been training there for several weeks, having not been allowed to enter the United States due to the lack of an anti-Covid vaccine.
But nothing went as planned. Already for his entry into the competition, Tuesday in the second round against the unknown Russian Ivan Gakhov (198th), he had been laborious and had taken 1h47 to win 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.
On Thursday, the opponent was more valiant and was able to take advantage of the obvious weaknesses of the Serb who committed 46 direct faults, many of them in forehand.
Lorenzo Musetti during his victory over Novak Djokovic in the eighth round of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 on April 13, 2023. "In the last game, I was shaking, I was afraid of winning. But it's normal because I had never beaten a world No. 1," said Italian © Valery HACHE / AFP / Archives
Black sleeve
If he did not want to say anything about it, Djokovic had injured his right arm Sunday in training and he wore a black sleeve Thursday.
"I have nothing to say, I'm fine," he cut short when asked about the protection.
Novak Djokovic after his defeat in the eighth round of the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 against Italy's Lorenzo Musetti on April 13, 2023 © Valery HACHE / AFP / Archives
From the start of the match, he appeared very nervous. And back on court after an hour of interruption due to rain at the beginning of the decisive set, he also wore a large plaster on the back of his left thigh.
After 2h54 of the match (not counting the interruption), he hit a final blow too long and left the victory to Musetti who could only savor with emotion this moment.
"I took my revenge, in such a beautiful setting, where I live, where I feel at home," he said.
The two men had indeed faced each other in the 8th finals at Roland-Garros in 2021 and Musetti had won the first two sets before dropping the next two and abandoning at 4-0 in the last.
At 21, he returns to the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000 for the second time after Paris last year (defeat against Djokovic) and will try to reach the last four of a tournament of this category for the first time.
For this, he will have to beat his compatriot Jannik Sinner (8th).
Sinner saves a match ball
The latter saved a match ball on Thursday before dismissing Poland's Hubert Hurkacz (13th) 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1.
Italy's Jannik Sinner saved a match ball but ended up qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 on April 13, 2023 against Poland's Hubert Hurkacz © Valery HACHE / AFP/Archives
"Now I'm in the tournament," said Sinner, who benefited from the early retirement of injured Diego Schwartzman for his second-round debut.
"I needed such a match. I am now in the rhythm. I'm not at my best yet, but every day I'm improving," added the 21-year-old, who remains on a final in Miami and a semi in Indian Wells.
The other quarter at the top of the table will pit Holger Rune (9th), who took advantage of the forfeit of Matteo Berrettini injured abdominals, to the winner of the duel between Daniil Medvedev (5th) and Alexander Zverev (16th). This final match of the fifth day of the tournament began shortly after 20:00.
At the bottom of the draw, two-time defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas (3rd) quietly qualified at the expense of Chilean Nicolas Jarry (58th) 6-3, 6-4 and will face American Taylor Fritz (10th) who dismissed Czech Jiri Lehecka (42nd) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
The final quarter will pit Russia's Andrey Rublev (6th) who beat his compatriot Karen Khachanov (12th) 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, against Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff (100th), winner 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) of Norway's Casper Ruud (4th), the finalist of the last Roland-Garros and US Open.
© 2023 AFP