It sounds obvious to ask a tennis player to try to win. But there is nothing simple or obvious about playing against Djokovic.
You can’t play the game your way against him and expect to win. You have to play the point, play the atmosphere. That’s the difference between a player who has more slams than any other man and one who has none. Between Djokovic, ranked 4th here, and Musetti, ranked 5th.
Fortunately, this is what a player of light and shadow like Musetti has become very good at.
“It’s always tough to play against Novak, especially here where he’s won many, many times. He knew the state pretty well, all kinds of things,” Musetti said.
“I think it will be a tough match for sure. Of course he feels good. He never lost a set. He had the opportunity to rest for a few days. I think at this age I think he was happy about it (his opponent retired in the fourth round), of course he tried to be well prepared and relaxed for this match.
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“Obviously we know each other quite well because we’ve played a lot. [I’ve] he only won once against him. Let’s hope I get my revenge because we were really, really close last time in Athens. I feel like I have another chance now.”
The hardest thing about playing Djokovic is playing Djokovic because you’re not just playing a player, you’re playing history. The second thing Musetti learned from those previous matches is that Djokovic finds ways to get out of tight spots that other players can’t find. That’s what sets him apart.
By his own admission, Musetti “wasn’t cynical, I wasn’t cool enough” to beat Djokovic in Athens. He knows that Djokovic would go for the kill.
“I think the mentality I have to put on the court next game against ‘Nola is try to win the game and not play the game.”
Musetti’s quarter-final appearance will be his first at a hard-court Grand Slam.
It was a reasonably drop shot when he won Monday’s fourth-round match. Musetti squeezes the sliced ball over the net to that spot almost on the bent knee of the ball, teasing opponents into thinking they can reach it. But they can’t. Fritz couldn’t.
It was the third point in a row that Musetti played the same shot. He hit an ace, drop shot, drop shot, drop shot when serving for the match. Game, set, match.
And so, with this joker hit, he earned a place in the quarterfinals to play with Djoker.
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