There are two Big 3 vs. young Italian showdowns on Monday at Roland Garros, including Novak Djokovic vs. Lorenzo Musetti. Less notable but equally important with a quarterfinal spot at stake is a clash between Diego Schwartzman and Jan-Lennard Struff.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. Lorenzo Musetti
It will be a clash of generations–the current world No. 1 vs. a potential future Grand Slam champion–when Djokovic and Musetti square off in round four of the French Open on Monday. That makes it look great on paper, but on the court it will probably end up being less glamorous. Djokovic, of course, is a massive favorite–and for good reason. The top-seeded Serb may not have been in dominant form earlier in the clay-court swing, but his motivation level is only piqued by slams at this point. Unsurprisingly, Djokovic’s level has increased significantly in Paris. He has advanced so far with defeats of Tennys Sandgren, Pablo Cuevas, and Ricardas Berankis and no opponent has made any set closer than 6-4.
Musetti is through to the last 16 in his first-ever major main-draw appearance. Obviously the 19-year-old Italian has nothing to lose, but there will still be plenty of nerves on such a huge stage. Musetti erased David Goffin and Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets but a five-setter against compatriot Marco Cecchinato on Saturday does not exactly help. Then again, Djokovic will almost surely end this one long before fitness levels become an issue.
Pick: Djokovic in 3 losing 11 games or fewer
(10) Diego Schwartzman vs. Jan-Lennard Struff
Schwartzman and Struff will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Monday. They have split their two previous encounters, although their past history is more encouraging for Schwartzman heading into a clay-court contest. The Argentine cruised 6-3, 6-0 at the 2017 Monte-Carlo Masters, whereas Struff prevailed on an indoor hard court (6-3, 7-6(8) at the 2019 Davis Cup Finals).
That isn’t to say that clay automatically means a Schwartzman win. Struff also made a run to the French Open fourth round in 2019 and his 2021 clay-court swing already featured a runner-up performance in Munich. So far in Paris the 42nd-ranked German has taken out Andrey Rublev, Facundo Bagnis, and Carlos Alcaraz–the latter two in straight sets. Schwartzman has found his form with straight-set beatdowns of Yen-Hsun Lu, Aljaz Bedene, and Philipp Kohlschreiber. A steep step up in competition means the world No. 10 is in for his first tough test of the fortnight, and this should be an entertaining and competitive contrast in styles. In the end, Schwartzman’s consistency and counter-punching will likely break down Struff.
Pick: Schwartzman in 5
WWW?
Djokovic in 3
Schwartzman in 5 (maybe 4)
Tsistipas in 4 (or 5) but Medvedev not without a chance.
Zverev in 3 (maybe 4)
Joker in 3; JLS in a tough 4 setter.
Musetti is a serious talent for the future.
Nole will win this match but he looks beatable today.
OMG! Musetti takes the first set on a tb.
Nole is definitely feeling the pressure today. Has made quite a few fh errors.
Nole is certainly looking beatable today and he is playing a guy who believes!! If Novak wins it would have been a good match to have played
OMG!! After that tb, rumor has it that Roger has started lacing up his boots to take on Berretini
Haha!
Amazing Shots from Musetti. I loove that backhand down the line. Wow!
He is the next big star in tennis!
Musetti up a break in the second now.
Now Nole breaks back. Nole not playing well.
Musetti now up a break in the 2nd set! And Shortman is dismantling Struff Is Not Enuff.
My money is still on Djoker but he just may have to go 5… Musetti will tighten up once he thinks he really can win and Djoker has Been There, Done That…but so far the kid is really fun to watch.
Yes, he is fun to watch but even with Nole not playing well it’s still a tough ask for the kid to pull this off but he seems to think he can do it!
If he wins the second set then…..game on!!!
How much is Nole not enjoying Musetti’s bh slice!?
Musetti should have broken there really!
Nole is really in trouble now. When did he last lose 2 consecutive tbs at a slam?!
I have no idea but with Novak not playing well it’s possible for the kid to beat him even on in five sets. But Musetti had better not let off thinking he’s already won bcos it’s at this point Novak becomes dangerous. However, Novak is playing like he does not want to be there!
Well, law of averages. He won 3 with Fed at Wimby. You lose some, you win some.
I like Musetti. And he’s so young. Hopefully he will become sa big player and this is more than a happy accident.
Novak took a bathroom break. He went to get his mojo, lol!!! Let’s see what he brings on in the third! If he wins the third then it will be a different match. I still think Novak can win this, but it’s also up to the kid!
Yep, Novak gets the break!! That bathroom break was deliberate, though. Break the kid’s momentum and I might be in for a chance, and there it is!
Heh. Bathroom breaks after losing a set have become part of tennis strategy. You regroup and your hot opponent cools down. At least he didn’t take a “shower” a la Nishikori.
Kiddo has taken a whooping in the 3rd set. Let’s see if he still has anything for the 4th.
Ah, I see. Depending on the player, it’s strategy or gamesmanship. In this case it’s Novak, so it’s strategy, lol!
Well now maybe we can stop with all the talk about Novak looking invincible. I thought the score was wrong when I turned it on. But Novak has woken up.
Maybe we can stop worrying so much about Rafa playing Sinner. It looks like this young guy may be running out of gas and Novak has woken up.
Ok Nole winning easily now. Hope this is over quickly so Rafa can get on court.
But Nole has shown he is beatable today.
Testing
It looks like this young kus has run out gas. Novak woke up.
But Novak is not looking unbeatable.
Musetti needs to muResetti in the fifth set
Djokovic not getting enough spotlight and faking a comeback win or just a bad day at the office? Is he playing injured already?
When the tournament predictions were made, the question was who’s to stop Novak from getting to the SFs. Just about anyone it seems, with some help from the Serb.
Not feeling like being beaten by Rafa twice in a month, perhaps, or saving his breath for Wimbledon.
I’m just having a bit of fun, this is obviously far from over.
Testing testing
Thus match is going to be over really fast.
What is with Musetti, though? Ran out of gas? It’s like a completely different player in the 3rd and 4th!!!
Now medical time out for Musetti, lol!!! He looked like a complete different player in the previous 2 sets! Rafa makes playing on clay look so easy!!
This kid can’t even win a game.
Had a feeling the Italians would do the unexpected with 3 still in the draw.
Go away and stop trolling us!
Gosh, a walk over? Wow!! And they say Rafa’s draw is easy!! Two walkovers on the same side of the draw!!! Sigh! It only goes to show how amazing Rafa is to win RG so many times without any such luck!!
This is a disgrace. The way this match ended. So Novak stinks up the court to go down two sets and then the guy just bascalkt quits.
Basically quits! So he suddenly got hurt? Or he didn’t want to get bageled again?
Great effort to take Djokovic to 5 sets in first attempt at RG. He’s got a big future.
Lol!
I think so too, but I thought he may have picked up an injury and not just quit! The kid looked like Roger in the first two sets! Novak was just giddy, had no answers at all!! If you take away pace from Novak he just loses all confidence in his game, quite remarkable that! Like no plan B!
Well Djokovic is still pretty far from the three walkovers that he received during USO 2016 – even so he didn’t manage to win that tournament. If Federer had an easier match on Saturday he would have retired before the SF – a walkover opportunity lost by the Serb. I am glad that the Italian retired before completing the match, the Serb does not deserve any credit for this “win”. Lucky as hell, as usually. I’m not saying that he was necessarily losing, but he could/should have gone to 4-5 hours of playing.