Rolex Monte Carlo Masters—Monaco
Thursday’s action-packed schedule at the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters saw top seed Novak Djokovic avenge a loss to Lorenzo Musetti, defeating the Italian 7-5, 6-3.
Losing to Musetti 12-months ago in Monaco, Djokovic needed one hour and 58 minutes to advance over his younger opponent. Striking three aces and winning 67 percent of his first serve points, Djokovic will next face No. 11 seed Alex de Minaur.
The inform Australian dispatched fellow Aussie Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-4 earlier in the day. De Minaur defeated Djokovic earlier this year at the ATP Cup in Australia.
Djokovic, who is the oldest ever world No. 1 at 36, is attempting to win in Monaco for the third time. If he is successful, he will have won all nine Masters 1000 events three-times over. No other player has one all of the premier events on the ATP Tour once in total.
Elsewhere, reigning Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner breezed past Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-2, and will next face No. 7 seed Holger Rune.
Rune, who won twice on Thursday to make the quarterfinals, owns a 2-1 head-to-head lead over Sinner.
The Dane dispatched Indian star Sumit Nagal earlier on Centre Court, before defeating recent Miami Open finalist Grigor Dimitrov in three, thrilling sets.
Rune is the defending finalist in Monte Carlo.
Defending champion Andrey Rublev lost on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Karen Khachanov ousted fellow Russian and No. 4 seed Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-5.
Medvedev, who was disgruntled with the chair umpire both today and during yesterday’s victory over Gael Monfils, threw his racquet in frustration to the backstop before bowing out.
Medvedev is the defending champion at the Rome Masters, which will take place next month in Italy.
Other winners on the day saw two-time former winner Stefanos Tsitsipas advance in two, hard-fought sets over No. 5 seed Alexander Zverev, and No. 8 seed Casper Ruud moved past recent Estoril winner Hubert Hurkacz, 6-4, 6-2.
Ruud, who is a two-time French Open finalist, recently made the decision to hit his forehand much harder during the 2024 season against higher-ranked opposition.
Friday’s star-studded quarterfinal action will be highlighted Djokovic vs. de Minaur, Sinner vs. Rune, Tsitsipas vs. Khachanov and Ruud vs. Lorenzo Sonego or Ugo Humbert.
Friday’s schedule of play at the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters can be found here.
The Rolex Monte Carlo Masters continues to be one of the most prestigious events on the calendar season, hosting the best players and celebrities alike at the Monte Carlo Country Club in Monaco.
The clay-court season will continue next week in Barcelona, Munich and Bucharest. The Barcelona event will be or particular interest to fans around the world as 22-time Major winner Rafael Nadal is set to return to action. The Spaniard has been sidelined since the Brisbane event in Australia and is likely to retire by the end of this season.
Nadal has won in Barcelona on 12 occasions and will be hopeful of playing at Roland Garros later this Spring. An event he has won 14 times.
The Mallorcan recently withdrew from Monte Carlo and Indian Wells with a back injury he suffered during the Netflix challenge against Carlos Alcaraz in March.
Watch all the action live this week from Monte Carlo on Tennis TV.
Get ready for the year’s second Major today, with great tickets to the French Open in Paris. Nadal is set to play to his most successful event for perhaps the last time in his career.
Third-round results:
Novak Djokovic (1) Defeats Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-3
Jannik Sinner (2) Defeats Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-2
Karen Khachanov (15) Defeats Daniil Medvedev (4) 6-3, 7-5
Stefanos Tsitsipas (12) Defeats Alexander Zverev (5) 7-5, 7-6(3)
Holger Rune (7) Defeats Grigor Dimitrov (9) 7-6(9), 3-6, 7-6(2)
Casper Ruud (8) Defeats Hubert Hurkacz (10)
Alex de Minaur (11) Defeats Alexei Popyrin 6-3 6-4
Second-round results:
Holger Rune (7) Defeats Sumit Nagal 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
Grigor Dimitrov (9) Defeats Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-3
