"If I lose or I win, doesn't really matter": Lorenzo Musetti sees upcoming Novak Djokovic clash as a 'lesson'

Lorenzo Musetti has had some joy in the past facing Novak Djokovic albeit often times, it has seen the Italian go ahead of the 24-time Grand Slam champion and then fall by the wayside as the Serbian streaks past him. Next up, they will play at the Monte-Carlo Masters for a spot in the fourth round after Djokovic thrashed Roman Safiullin to begin his campaign.

Some doubts emerged about Djokovic pre-tournament evidenced by his losses in particular to Italian players with Jannik Sinner and Luca Nardi both accounting for him in recent months. He said he wasn't scared of Italian players after bizarrely being asked about the supposed coincidence in his press conference. But Musetti isn't scared either.

Musetti said that for him playing Djokovic is always a less win or lose and is one that he majorly benefits from. But this in a way struck of a player in awe as opposed to one who thinks he can really topple a player who has a new coaching team and hasn't been at his best for most of the season.

“Yeah, it's kind of fun, because it's exactly one year, because it's the same tournament, same round, and same spot. So hopefully it will be a nice match, but of course, as I said before, it would be a lesson, for sure, in both ways. If I lose or if I win, doesn't really matter, because, you know, playing against a champion like Nole, there is always something to learn and to, you know, to take. So really looking forward now to have one day off, and then enjoy the beautiful match upcoming with Nole.”

Djokovic praised Musetti during his press conference amid the talk of being scared of Italians calling him one of the most talented players on clay. He lauded his one-handed backhand as 'beautiful' and said he was one of the most talented players in the world. High praise indeed.

“I’m not scared of anything and anybody, but I really hope that I can get the chance to play him again, get the match-up, another match-up here. He obviously is, you know, one of the most talented players on clay, a beautiful one-handed backhand. He’s very athletic. He can do a lot of great things. He’s one of the most promising young players not only from Italy but generally for the world.”