Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti will face off for the sixth time in their career on Saturday night with the World No.1 hoping to extend his record in the head-to-head to 5-1. Musetti did get on the board last year at Monte Carlo but was soundly beaten in the rematch this time round, getting broken five times in a 7-5 6-3 win for Djokovic.
Djokovic has been able to ease his way into the tournament with two fairly weak opponents to begin the tournament. He beat Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4 6-1 6-2 to move on. He hasn’t been able to move the needle positively on this title chances here but more importantly, there’s little to arouse concern through these first two either. “I’m glad that I came through the opening [two] rounds in straight sets,” Djokovic said. “Again at the beginning, in the first set, I was challenged. He was playing very well, aggressive from the start. It took me a little bit of time to start swinging through the ball a bit more loose.”
Check out our French Open tennis predictions page.
Djokovic will have preferred to play Gael Monfils in this match, given his 19-1 record so far. However, Musetti quickly dashed those plans with an impressive 7-5 6-1 6-4 win on Philippe Chatrier. He did have to break to stay in the first set but was rarely troubled from that point on despite the best efforts of the crowd to cheer their man on.
Djokovic remains a different animal at slams with his endurance working wonders in the best of five format. This matchup is now a more familiar one for him after getting caught out first time around at this tournament. Musetti has an attractive attacking game and could grab a set if he catches fire but their 2024 Monte Carlo meeting suggests that even a declining Djokovic mostly has him figured out.
Prediction – Novak Djokovic in four sets
