World No. 1 fights back from two sets down before teen Musetti quits due to stomach injury; Nadal sees off Sinner
Novak Djokovic returns to Lorenzo Musetti during their fourth round French Open match in Paris yesterday. Pic/AFP
Novak Djokovic survived a major scare from teenager Lorenzo Musetti on Monday to reach his 15th French Open quarter-final and stay on course to become the first man in over 50 years to win all four Grand Slams twice.
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The World No. 1 dropped the first two sets, then comfortably levelled before the 19-year-old Italian retired in the final set from a stomach injury.
Djokovic’s 6-7 (7/9), 6-7 (2/7), 6-1, 6-0, 4-0 win set up a Last eight clash with Matteo Berrettini, another Italian, who progressed after Roger Federer’s withdrawal.
Rafael Nadal reached the quarter-finals for the 15th time on Monday with a straight sets win over Italy’s Jannik Sinner to stay on course for a 14th Roland Garros title and record-setting 21st Grand Slam. Third seed Nadal downed 19-year-old Sinner 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 and goes on to face 10th-seeded Diego Schwartzman.
Djokovic, the 2016 champion and chasing a 19th major, was facing his earliest exit in Paris since 2009 when 19-year-old Musetti stormed through the first two sets, hitting blistering winners and finding the acutest of angles.
But the 76th-ranked Italian, making his Grand Slam debut, then went dramatically off the boil. Where the first two sets had taken 75 and 66 minutes, Djokovic swept the third in 24 minutes and the fourth in just 17. Musetti won only 14 points in the third and fourth sets before leaving the court for a medical time-out. Djokovic broke for 1-0 in the decider, injuring a finger as he smashed a winner while losing his balance and falling into the clay.
“I like to play young guys in the best-of-five because even at two sets down, I feel I still have my chances,” said Djokovic. “I feel physically fit, I have won most of my five-setters and that experience helps. It’s unfortunate for him to have to retire but I could see he was struggling physically.”
3rd QF for Schwartzman
Schwartzman reached his third French Open quarter-final with a 7-6 (11/9), 6-4, 7-5 win over Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff. Schwartzman saved seven set points in the first set as he rallied from a 5-1 deficit against the 42nd-ranked Struff.
Kenin ousted
Meanwhile, Greece’s Maria Sakkari demolished last year’s runner-up Sofia Kenin 6-1, 6-3 on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time. The World No. 18 needed 68 minutes to beat the fourth-seeded American.
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