Novak Djokovic has made an early exit from the Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament for the third year in a row. Top-ranked Djokovic, playing his second match of the season on clay courts after a month's rest, was defeated by Lorenzo Musetti 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in a match played on Thursday. The Serbian player is still trying to adjust on the clay courts. He lost his serve eight times and had no answer to his Italian opponent's shots from the baseline. Djokovic said after the match that 'to be honest, I feel very bad about the kind of game I showed today.'
Djokovic, a two-time champion in Monte Carlo, lost in the first round to France's Cote d'Azur last year and in 2021 could not get past the third round. Musetti, seeded 16th, will take on Yannick Sinner in the quarterfinals. Sinner, ranked 7th, saved a match point in the second set to beat 10th seed Hubert Hercz 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1.
Third seed Daniil Medvedev also saved two match points in the deciding tiebreaker to beat Alexander Zverev 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7). Medvedev has made it to the quarterfinals of this competition for the second time. He will now face Holger Rune. In another match, German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff upset fourth seed Kasper Ruud 6-1, 7-6(6). Struff will next face 2021 runner-up Andrey Rublev, who beat Karen Khachanov 7-6 (4), 6-2. Two-time defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 6-4.
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