Tennis

Why did Lorenzo Musetti retire against Novak Djokovic at The French Open?

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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 )

Musetti fought a battle but was outgunned by the Serb

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.

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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.

Berretini holds a 0-1 record against Novak Djokovic

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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