Lorenzo Musetti ends the match in retirement after a 5-set battle with World. No 1 Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic was stretched to the limits as he beat Italian Lorenzo Musetti in a grueling 5- set contest.
The Serbian won 6-7(7) 6-7(2) 6-1 6-0 4-0 when Musetti decide to retire. Djokovic now faces World No. 9 Matteo Berrettini, who got a walkover after the withdrawal of Roger Federer.
“It’s not an injury.”
“It’s, well, just a little bit of cramps and a little bit of low(er) back pain. I was not anymore able to win a point, and so was not really grateful also for the crowd that was there, so I decided to retire.” ( h/t Roland Garros )
The Italian took the fight in the first two sets taking a 2-0 set lead. Things went bad when Djokovic took control of the third set and continued the momentum till the fifth set. However, The level of the 19-year old dropped and he struggled in the long rallies.
In the 4th set, Djokovic showed his level which has taken him to the world’s top-ranking by dominating every point. He kept the pressure on Musetti and the momentum moved completely the Serb’s way.
Djokovic vs Berretini : Head-to-head
Novak Djokovic faces the Italian for the second time in his career. Their previous meeting came at the 2019 Nitto ATP Tour Finals, which he convincingly won 6-2, 6-1.
The Italian has had an impressive display of tennis on the way to the quarter-finals. His meeting with Roger Federer didn’t happen as the Swiss withdrew from the tournament.
Berrettini had added time off after receiving a walkover, while Djokovic is coming off the back of a tiring 5-set encounter against fellow Italian Musetti.
The World No. 9 will sense a chance to equalize the head-to-head record. He beat S. Kwon in his last match on Court Simonne Mathieu.
However, Djokovic will face the winner of the other quarter-final clash between Rafael Nadal and Diego Schwartzman.
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