Novak Djoković

[Nando]

[Kamileki]

[Damian]

[Damian]

Djokovic, Sinner meet Carlos Sainz in Monte-Carlo

Spoiler:

Spanish driver sits courtside for Italian's match

Djokovic, Sinner meet Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz
There was no shortage of star power, or horsepower, at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters Wednesday. Watch live & on

Sporting superstars were easy to spot Wednesday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz enjoyed the action and met the top two seeds: Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner.

The Spanish driver caught up with the 40-time ATP Masters 1000 champion Djokovic and posed for a picture with the Serbian.

"What's up? Did you get the chance to play a little bit of tennis?" Djokovic asked.

"My backhand is terrible. My drive is okay. My volley sucks," Sainz said with a smile.

Sainz also sat courtside to watch Sinner kickstart his title quest in the Principality and later met the Italian after the match.

“I was here watching you! Right behind you. Pushing for you,” Sainz said to Sinner, who then mentioned his love for Formula 1.

Sainz is not the only Formula 1 driver to soak in the ATP Masters 1000 tournament so far this week. On Tuesday, George Russell was in attendance for Djokovic’s opening match.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/sainz-d ... carlo-2024

[Damian]

Djokovic avenges Musetti loss to reach Monte-Carlo QFs

Spoiler:

Novak Djokovic was not at his best on Thursday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, but he did enough to gain revenge against Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP Masters 1000 clay-court event.

Twelve months ago, the Serbian suffered a shock third-round defeat to the Italian in the Principality and history threatened to repeat itself at this year’s edition after Musetti led by a break in the first set.

However, defeating Djokovic twice is no easy feat and the World No. 1 refused to succumb, finding enough consistency at crucial moments to advance to the quarter-finals 7-5, 6-3.

"It was a little exchange with the crowd at 4-3, 40/0 for him in the first set and ever since then I gained momentum," Djokovic said when asked how he turned the tide in the opening set. "He lost focus a little bit. He was the better player for those first seven games, played some great tennis. Played really good shots and made me run.

"But this is clay and obviously things can turn around very quickly and a break of serve is not as a big advantage on this surface compared to the other surfaces. We saw a little bit of a rollercoaster in the second set, so I am pleased that staying tough and aggressive in the tight moments paid off."

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The 36-year-old is competing in his first event since splitting with former coach Goran Ivanisevic. The top seed, who has Nenad Zimonjic in his box this week, cut a frustrated figure at times in the first set against Musetti, who caused the Serbian problems with his court craft.

However, the Serbian gained the decisive break in the 12th game of the first set before he played with greater intensity and freedom in the second set to reach the last eight after one hour and 59 minutes.

"I don't think I am still at my top level but it was a great test today against a great player, a very talented player," Djokovic said. "I lost to him last year here, similar circumstances. I was a set and 4-2 up and I must say it was in the back of my mind when I was serving at 4-2, 40/15 and lost my serve today. I thought, 'Oh no, hopefully this is not similar scenario like last year'. I am really glad to overcome the challenge and look forward to the next one."


Djokovic now leads the 22-year-old 4-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series and will next meet Alex de Minaur after the Australian beat countryman Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-4 to become the first Aussie to reach the quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo since Mark Philippoussis in 1999.

Djokovic is a two-time champion in the Principality, triumphing in 2013 and 2015. He has failed to advance beyond the quarter-final stage since his previous title victory nine years ago but will hope to change that record when he meets De Minaur on Friday.

The 98-time tour-level champion is still searching for his first trophy of the season, with his best result a semi-final run at the Australian Open.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/djokovi ... 4-thursday

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

Djokovic battles to hard-fought Demon win in Monte-Carlo

Spoiler:

Serbian is into record-breaking 77th ATP Masters 1000 semi-final
April 12, 2024
Extended Highlights: Djokovic, Sinner, Tsitsipas, Ruud reach Monte-Carlo 2024 SFs
Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud advance to the last four in Monte-Carlo. Watch live & on demand at TennisTV.com.

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Novak Djokovic defeats Alex de Minaur on Friday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
By ATP Staff
Novak Djokovic moved to within just two wins of completing his third sweep of all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles on Friday when he advanced to the semi-finals at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters for the first time since triumphing in 2015.

In a tight clash against Alex de Minaur, the World No. 1 was not at his fluid best but found the required level to earn a 7-5, 6-4 win. With his two-hour, four-minute victory, the Serbian avenged his recent United Cup loss to the Australian to improve to 2-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

"It was tough for both of us. He is one of the quickest players on Tour. He gets a lot of balls back that normally 99 per cent of other players don't. He did not surprise me with several passing shots. Particularly in the second set when I was up a break," Djokovic said.

"But he said at the net it was ugly. The second set I think it was. We didn't play at the high level and made a lot of unforced errors, him and I, and a lot of breaks of serve. It is kind of expected on clay but maybe not this many. But a win is a win and I am happy to be through."

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The 36-year-old, who on Sunday became the oldest No. 1 in PIF ATP Rankings history, is chasing a record-extending 41st ATP Masters 1000 crown this week. Should he lift the trophy, it would mark the top seed’s third sweep of all nine Masters 1000 tournaments.

In a tight clash, Djokovic looked breathless at times on Court Rainier III, frequently slumping over after lengthy exchanges. However, as has been the way in his career, the top seed battled on and capitalised on errors from De Minaur on key points to eventually prevail.


The Australian committed five unforced errors when serving to stay in the first set at 5-6. Neither player could hold serve consistently in the second set, with seven breaks of serve in the set. Djokovic, who hit 13 winners and committed 26 unforced errors, gained the decisive break in the 10th game to eventually prevail.

The World No. 1 has triumphed in Monte-Carlo in 2013 and 2015, but before this week had not prevailed past the quarter-final stage since 2015. He will continue the quest for his first title of the year when he meets Frenchman Ugo Humbert or Norwegian Casper Ruud in the last four on Saturday.

"I am very happy to be back in the semis. It has been a while," Djokovic said. "I love this tournament. I love this club as well, I have been training at this club for many years. The past seven, eight years has been tough for me to win seven or eight matches consecutively, but here we are, another semis."

Aged 36, Djokovic is the oldest semi-finalist in the tournament’s Open Era history. If he wins the title on Sunday, he will move to 1100 tour-level victories. Only Roger Federer (1,251) has more tour-level wins in the Open Era.

De Minaur was competing in his first quarter-final in Monte-Carlo. The 25-year-old, who triumphed on hard courts in Acapulco earlier this year, is up one spot to No. 10 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Did You Know?
Djokovic is into a record-breaking 77th ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/djokovi ... lo-2024-qf

[Damian]

Can you hear me now? Novak says 'No'

Spoiler:

Serbian is into record-breaking 77th ATP Masters 1000 semi-final
April 12, 2024
Novak Djokovic is chasing his third title at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Novak Djokovic is chasing his third title at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
By ATP Staff
Novak Djokovic’s mental fortitude is one of the best not just on the ATP Tour, but in all of sports. And when the top seed at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters is in the zone filtering out all noises irrelevant to the task at hand, it may be hard to get his attention.

“I don't really hear — as strange as it sounds — but I'm completely in a kind of a zone where I don't hear the ball sound, the ball strike because of the grunts, because of whatever,” Djokovic said in a press conference Friday.

The seven-time Nitto ATP Finals champion was responding to a question about his late friend Kobe Bryant’s comments that he was addicted to the sound of making buckets.

"There is more than one thing to add to what Kobe was saying about the sound of the bucket,” Djokovic said. “For [tennis players] it's the sound of the shot, sound of the ball where of course in some tournaments where you have a better echo. But it sounds even more loud when you strike the ball cleanly. But it's interesting because I only enjoy that when I am watching the videos of my matches or I'm watching some other matches. I don't enjoy it while I play."

The World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings was forced to dial-in Friday in the Principality, where he earned a hard-fought win against Alex de Minaur, who joked about the ugliness of their 7-5, 6-4 quarter-final match as they embraced at the net.

You May Also Like: Djokovic battles to hard-fought Demon win in Monte-Carlo
The second set alone consisted of seven breaks of serve and the top seed committed 26 unforced errors to half as many winners.

“Most of the second set was quite ugly, as [De Minaur] said,” Djokovic added. “I don't think we played such beautiful tennis in the second set. Sometimes you just have to find a way to win. Today that was the case.”

Despite the victory not being the most flamboyant, the two-time Monte-Carlo champion (2013, 2015), Djokovic made more history Friday by surpassing rival Rafael Nadal for most ATP Masters 1000 semi-final appearances (77).

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Earlier this week, the 36-year-old became the oldest No. 1 in PIF ATP Rankings history and now into the last four in Monte-Carlo, Djokovic is two matches from completing his third sweep of all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles.

Even after holding the top spot in the PIF ATP Rankings for 420 weeks and winning nearly everything the sport has to offer, Djokovic still feels nerves when he takes the court.

“I enjoy the thrill of the butterflies before the match. Regardless of the fact that I played so many matches in my life, I still feel that nervous sensations but also the excitement of walking out on the court,” Djokovic said. “There is some beauty in the unpredictability of what's going to happen next. Nobody knows who's going to win.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/djokovi ... f-reaction

[Damian]

[Barty]

Monte Carlo 24: 77. półfinał M-1000.


CGTN

1. Novak Djoković - 77
2. Rafael Nadal - 76
3. Roger Federer - 66
4. Jimmy Connors - 48
5. Ivan Lendl - 40

[Kiefer]

[Kiefer]

[Kamileki]

[Kamileki]

[Barty]

[Kamileki]

[DUN I LOVE]

Nie udało się awansować do kolejnego finału MC, ale jest pierwszy od 8 lat półfinał. Wydaje się jednak, że potrójny Golden Masters się już chyba nie wydarzy.

11-4 w 2024 jest Novak.

[Nando]

[Damian]