Musetti beats Monfils to set Djokovic rematch

Three years ago, in his Roland-Garros main-draw debut, an unseeded Musetti, then just 19 years old, led Djokovic (also the No. 1 seed that year) two-sets-to-love in the fourth round before retiring in the fifth set. He also reached the last 16 last year, where he lost in three sets to another Grand Slam champion: Carlos Alcaraz.

Should he want to match his best Roland-Garros effort, he’ll have to pull off a stunner against the world No. 1 and defending champion. But first, he needed to put an end to Monfils’ 17th career appearance in Paris and hand the Frenchman a first defeat under the Chatrier lights.

Story of the match

Playing under the lights for the second time this fortnight, Monfils – bidding for the third round for the first time in five years – started strongly. He had leads of 3-1 and 4-2 in the first set, and served for it at 5-4. 

But when it mattered, Musetti delivered. He broke in the tenth game, but might have been even more impressive in a rollercoaster 11th, in which he nearly let a 40-0 lead slip. He eventually saved two break points before holding serve – one, with a first-ball backhand winner off his one-hander, and the other with an unreturnable serve – and went on to win the set’s last five points. 

There were no such opportunities for Monfils in the rest of the match. The second set was one-way traffic for the Italian, who broke serve twice and racked up a dozen winners, and he came through on the only opportunity for either man in the third set.

The serve was the story for both players in the final frame – they combined to lose just five points in the first eight games – but a sizzling ninth, in which Musetti struck a pair of forehand winners, was the final finishing blow. 

Key stats

If you were looking for a way to sum up Musetti’s performance, try: comprehensive and consistent. The Italian hit 31 winners to just 17 unforced errors, converted six of 11 break points, and won 74 per cent of the points on his first serve. 

The win also gave Musetti a milestone while denying Monfils one. The Frenchman was seeking his 40th main-draw win at Roland-Garros, which would have tied him with Yannick Noah for most singles wins by a Frenchman at the tournament in the Open era.

Instead it was Musetti who picked up the 50th tour-level clay-court win of his career. He’s also now 8-0 against players ranked outside the Top 5 at Roland-Garros.

Musetti’s take 

On beating Monfils for the first time: “It’s been one of my toughest challenges of my career, playing Gael. I knew the crowd was on his side, but if we were in Italy, it would be the same for me. But [because of that] I’m more proud of this victory …I was a little bit under pressure at the beginning: I was not serving very well and had to focus a little bit more. The second set and the third set was one of my best matches so far. I’m really happy to be in the third round.

On that key 5-5 game in the first set: “One point can make really a difference, especially playing best-of-five, the match can always turn around. … I had my nerves really cool tonight, so I’m really happy with my performance.”