Novak Djokovic avenged last year’s early Monte-Carlo loss to Lorenzo Musetti and will now face Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals on Friday. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov are also aiming for a semifinal spot.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (11) Alex de Minaur
Djokovic and De Minaur will be going head-to-head for the third rime in their careers when they clash in the quarterfinals of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Friday. They have split their two previous meetings; Djokovic rolled 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 at the 2023 Australian Open; De Minaur pulled off a 6-4, 6-4 upset at the United Cup earlier this season.
The latter result may have been a harbinger of things to come for De Minaur, as he has continued to be awesome in 2024. Up to No. 11 in the world, the 25-year-old Aussie is 22-6 this season following Monte-Carlo victories over Stan Wawrinka, Tallon Griekspoor, and Alexei Popyrin. Djokovic has underwhelmed so far this year, but with Roland Garros on the horizon it looks like he is motivated on the red clay. Seeking a third Monte-Carlo title, the world No. 1 trounced Roman-Safiullin 6-1, 6-2 before taking care of Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-3. Although De Minaur appears to be finding his footing on clay, this probably isn’t the surface on which he is going to pick up a second win over Djokovic.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
(12) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. (15) Karen Khachanov
Khachanov was 1-5 in his head-to-head series against Daniil Medvedev before beating the world No. 4 in straight sets on Thursday. The Russian is now tasked with bucking a 1-7 trend against Tsitsipas. There were signs that Khachanov would have a chance in the third round despite his record against Medvedev. Khachanov had been competitive in almost all of their matchups and clay favors him. However, the story is different against Tsitsipas. The Greek has mostly dominated their encounters and he is outstanding on the red stuff–even better than Khachanov.
Their only previous clay-court contest came two years ago in Rome, where Khachanov took the first set only to lose the next two 6-0, 6-3. The world No. 17 will be hard pressed to turn the tide in Monte-Carlo, where Tsitsipas is a two-time champion (2021, 2022). Tsitsipas has been far from great this season, but a return to this tournament appears to be just what the doctor ordered. The 12th seed has made it back to the quarterfinals thanks to straight-set defeats of Laslo Djere, Tomas Martin Etcheverry (6-1, 6-0), and an in-form Alexander Zverev. Count on Tsitsipas rolling into the semis.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 2
WWW?
C’mon De Minaur
Let’s go, Demon…..!!!….in 3….and Tsi in 2.
De Minaur is a nightmare matchup for Djokovic on any surface especially given their age difference.
Brings back memories of Hyeon Chung.
💪🤓Wow
Good memory. Maybe Nole is remembering that guy.
I’m watching the score only.
At the beginning of this MC, I was guessing Nole could go out earlier than expected because he had a potentially tricky draw to get through Rublev and Demon. One Aussie caught Rublev in the first round.
Demon is putting pressure on Nole. Nole reciprocates with pressure.
And then, Demon emits a loud one-word “fork”!
First set to Nole.
But hold on, Demon fans—no need to panic just yet.
There are still two more sets to go now for the fighter down under.
Djokovic is gonskies. If De Minaur plays a smart remaining match he’s a chance here.
Humidity is increasing too.
De Minaur needs a rest as well. See you in Madrid, preferably Rome.