The Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters might as well be a home tournament for Italian players. With Novak Djokovic in their section of the draw, the two Italians who have have advanced to the third round so far need all the support they can get.
Djokovic, who won his opening match against qualifier Ivan Gakhov 7-6(5), 6-2 on Tuesday, will face Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday after the 21-year-old Italian made 6-0, 6-0 mincemeat out of compatriot Luca Nardi 6-0, 6-0 on Wednesday. In fact, heading into his showdown with the world No. 1 Musetti has delivered three bagel sets in a row. He beat Estoril runner-up Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6(1), 6-0 in the first round.
It’s an absolutely loaded top section of the draw; in the quarterfinals the Djokovic-Musetti winner will go up against either Sinner or Hubert Hurkacz.
Sinner advanced through his opening match when Diego Schwartzman retired with a shoulder on Wednesday while trailing 6-0, 3-1. They were on court for only 38 minutes.
“I could tell from the beginning he was struggling a lot on the left side with pain,” Sinner said of his Monte-Carlo doubles partner. “I wish him the best and hopefully it is nothing serious…. I haven’t had loads of time to prepare, but I am happy to play here and play in front of Italian fans. Just enjoying every moment and trying my best and having a great attitude every time I step onto the court. I feel not so bad on clay.”
Sinner, who owns one clay-court title (2022 Umag) and reached the French Open quarterfinals in 2020, is coming off a run to the Miami Open final (lost to Daniil Medvedev).
those are some eye-popping scores for Musetti…
Top half of the MC draw is ridiculous….Joker in 3; Sinner in 2.