Novak Djokovic saw off
Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-3 to reach the Quarter-Finals at the
Monte-Carlo Masters. This being his best effort since 2019 at the tournament and also avenged last year's loss to the Italian. But as he quipped post match, it was 'pleasure in suffering'.
Djokovic will now face another player with a recent defeat on his resume in Alex de Minaur who beat the World No.1 at the United Cup so the redemption tour remains on for the Serbian who had to weather storms in two sets as he went behind in the first and then went up in the second before having to survive late pressure.
"Pleasure in suffering I guess. That’s what clay gives you," said Djokovic after being told he had to suffer through his win over Musetti and asked what pleasure did he take.
“I don’t think I’m at my top level yet. It was a great test today against an amazing player.. Very talented player, particularly on clay. I lost to him last year here. Similar circumstances. I was a set and 4-2 up. Then I lost the break. I must say it was in the back of my mind when I lost the break in the 2nd set today. I was like ‘Oh no.. hopefully it’s not a similar scenario to last year.’ I’m really glad to overcome the challenge and look forward to the next one. I’ll just take it one day at a time and see how it goes," continued Djokovic.
