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Musetti sends Djokovic to another early exit at Monte Carlo

Associated PressApr 13, 2023, 5:51 PM EDT
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MONACO — For the third year in a row, Novak Djokovic has been knocked out early at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Playing in only his second match on clay this season after a one-month pause, the top-ranked Serb lost 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 against Lorenzo Musetti.

Still adapting to the slow surface, Djokovic struggled with his movement, hit 46 unforced errors and could not find a solution to counter his Italian rival’s solid baseline shots.

“Well, (my) feeling is terrible after playing like this, honestly,” said Djokovic, who is expected to resume his preparations for the French Open next week at the Srpska Open in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

A two-time champion at Monte Carlo, Djokovic lost his opening match on the French Cote d’Azur last year and exited the tournament in the third round in 2021.

Djokovic got off to a strong start but lost control of the match in the second set, dropping his serve five times as both players struggled with accuracy in windy conditions.

Djokovic led 4-2 but could not hold onto his lead as Musetti’s mix of clever drop shots and deep groundstrokes put the 22-time Grand Slam winner on the back foot. Djokovic was broken at love in the 11th game and was furious at the changeover, stomping on his racket and destroying it.

Musetti kept his cool in the next game to serve out the set and force a decider.

The match was suspended by rain for about an hour with the score 6-4, 5-7, 1-1 and Djokovic up 40-30 on his serve. Musetti broke for a 4-3 lead and concluded on his fourth match point.

“I am struggling not to cry,” Musetti said. “It is an emotional win because it was a really long match. Three-hour match and suspended by rain. It was not easy conditions because it was a little bit windy and cold. Not like we used to play in the recent days. I am really proud of myself and I can see on the screen. I am struggling not to cry because it is a dream for me.”

The 16th-seeded Musetti – who led 2 sets to love against Djokovic at the 2021 French Open before retiring in the fifth set, will take on Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals.

The seventh-seeded Sinner came from behind and saved a match point to get past No. 10-seeded Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1.

Sinner trailed by a set and a break then came out on top of a 22-shot rally when down 6-5 in the tiebreaker to remain in the match. Hurkacz lost the next two points and threw his racket in anger, then totally lost his focus in the decider.

“Playing against him, I knew already from the beginning that it was very tough to get into the rhythm,” Sinner said. “I think he served incredible in the first one-and-a-half sets, and when I broke him the first time the momentum changed a little bit.”

Also, German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff took another step in his comeback from an injury as he upset fourth-seeded Casper Ruud 6-1, 7-6 (6).

Having been ranked 29th, Struff dropped as low as No. 168 after sustaining a foot fracture last year during a match in Miami, an injury that left him sidelined for more than two months.

Struff has enjoyed a good start to the season and returned to the Top 100 last month but had not beaten anyone in the Top 10 since June 2021. His aggressive style of play resulted in 37 winners and 23 points won at the net against Ruud, who dropped his serve four times.

Struff ended Ruud’s nine-match winning streak on clay. The 2022 French Open runner-up had won his past two tournaments on the surface, in Gstaad last July and in Estoril last week.

Struff will next be up against 2021 runner-up Andrey Rublev, who beat Karen Khachanov 7-6 (4), 6-2 at the Country Club.

“We know each other too well,” Rublev said. “The first set was only mental. We didn’t show some tennis skills. But it was tough to show skills because the wind was really hard and the court was slippery and it was tough to do something.”

Two-time defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 6-4 without dropping his serve.

“I had to deal with a few (tough) points, especially when he had break points,” said Tsitsipas, who next plays eighth-seeded Taylor Fritz. “I dealt with those situations very maturely and played precisely, so it was great out there.”

Sixth-seeded Holger Rune advanced to the quarterfinals without playing when Matteo Berrettini withdrew due to an injury. Third-seeded Daniil Medvedev was scheduled to play 13th-seeded Alexander Zverev later.

2023 USFL Draft order: Complete list of every pick from Round 1 through Round 10

By Feb 22, 2023, 6:09 PM EST
It's the Pittsburgh Maulers vs New Jersey Generals this Friday night on USA Network.
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As the USFL prepares for its second season, it reached a historic milestone by completing the 2023 USFL Draft. Eight teams selected a total of 80 eligible players across 10 rounds.

Out of over 3,000 eligible players, the first pick of the draft was Michigan State offensive tackle Jarrett Horst to the Michigan Panthers. The Panthers selected first because the winner of the Week 10 contest vs. the Pittsburgh Maulers decided the team that started the draft. The Panthers were victorious 33-21. The New Jersey Generals did not have a pick in the first round and their second and fifth-round picks were penalized because of “a violation of offseason roster management rules.” Instead, the Generals had its first pick shifted to the last pick of the entire draft in Round 10.

The USFL was founded in 1982. Since the USFL does not take place during the NFL season, it was intended to “try and fill the NFL-sized hole for fans when it begins play in the spring.” After its founding, the USFL ceased operations two seasons later in 1986. The 2023 season marks the first time since the beginning of the league that has had back-to-back seasons. Usually, spring leagues would host a 60-round selection draft, but USFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Daryl Johnston said that they are working to add more talent to each team’s roster, not rebuilding the eight teams.

The top 3 players selected in the draft were Horst, Incarnate Word quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr., and Appalachian State quarterback Chase Brice.

2023 USFL Draft

Round 1

  1. Michigan Panthers – Jarrett Horst, OT, Michigan State
  2. Pittsburgh Maulers – Lindsey Scott Jr., QB, Incarnate Word
  3. Houston Gamblers – Chase Brice, QB, Appalachian State
  4. Memphis Showboats – Mason Brooks, OT, Mississippi
  5. New Orleans Breakers – Tyler Scott, WR, Cincinnati
  6. Philadelphia Stars – Alfred Edwards III, OT, Utah State
  7. Birmingham Stallions – Kadeem Telfort, OT, UAB

Round 2

  1. Michigan Panthers – Tanner Morgan, QB, Michigan State
  2. Pittsburgh Maulers – Malik Hamm, DE, Lafayette
  3. Houston Gamblers – Justin Ford, CB, Montana
  4. Memphis Showboats – Isaiah Bolden, CB, Jackson State
  5. New Orleans Breakers – Noah Taylor, LB, Virginia
  6. Philadelphia Stars – Anderson Hardy, OT, Appalachian State
  7. Birmingham Stallions – Quinton Barrow, OT, Grand Valley State
  8. New Jersey Generals – Adrian Martinez, QB Kansas State

Round 3

  1. Michigan Panthers – Santrell Latham, LB, Southern Miss
  2. Pittsburgh Maulers – Tre’Quan Dorsey, OL, St. Francis
  3. Houston Gamblers – Joseph Fisher, OG, Shepard
  4. Memphis Showboats – Brevin Allen, DE, Campbell
  5. New Orleans Breakers – DJ Ivey, CB, Miami, Fla.
  6. Philadelphia Stars – Isaac Moore, OT, Temple
  7. Birmingham Stallions – Malik Cunningham, QB, Louisville
  8. New Jersey Generals – JJ Holloman, WR, Tennessee State

Round 4

  1. Michigan Panthers – DJ Scaife Jr., OL, Miami Fla.
  2. Pittsburgh Maulers – Ferlando Jordan, DB, SE Louisiana
  3. Houston Gamblers – Scott Matlock, DT, Boise State
  4. Memphis Showboats – Benny Sapp III, DB, Northern Iowa
  5. New Orleans Breakers – Keaton Mitchell, RB, East Carolina
  6. Philadelphia Stars – Truman Jones, DE, Harvard
  7. Birmingham Stallions – Derius Davis, WR, TCU
  8. New Jersey Generals – Victor Jones, DE, Akron

Round 5

  1. Michigan Panthers – Dashaun White, LB, Oklahoma
  2. Pittsburgh Maulers – Isaiah Land, DE, Florida A&M
  3. Houston Gamblers – Jeffrey Johnson, DT, Oklahoma
  4. Memphis Showboats – Michael Ezeiki, TE, UCLA
  5. New Orleans Breakers – Isaiah Moore, LB, NC State
  6. Philadelphia Stars – Earl Bostick Jr., OT, Kansas
  7. Birmingham Stallions – Zeke Vandenburgh, LB, Illinois State
  8. New Jersey Generals – De’Jahn Warren, CB, Jackson State

Round 6

  1. Michigan Panthers – Levi Russo-Bell, DE, Texas State
  2. Pittsburgh Maulers – Nash Jensen, OG, North Dakota State
  3. Houston Gamblers – Keenan Isaac, DB, Alabama State
  4. Memphis Showboats – Jerome Carvin, OL, Tennessee
  5. New Orleans Breakers – Dante Stills, DL, West Virginia
  6. New Jersey Generals – Derrick Tucker, DB, Texas Southern
  7. Philadelphia Stars – Jose Ramirez, DE, Eastern Michigan
  8. Birmingham Stallions – Colby Sorsdal, OT, William & Mary

Round 7

  1. Michigan Panthers – Gunnar Oakes, TE, Eastern Michigan
  2. Pittsburgh Maulers – Taylor Grimes, WR, Incarnate Word
  3. Houston Gamblers – Alex Jensen, OL, South Dakota
  4. Memphis Showboats – Nehemiah Shelton, CB, San Jose State
  5. New Orleans Breakers – Darius Hagans, RB, Virginia State
  6. New Jersey Generals – Jermaine McDaniel, DE, North Carolina A&T
  7. Philadelphia Stars – Demontrey Jacobs, OL, South Florida
  8. Birmingham Stallions – Grant Dubose, WR, Charlotte

Round 8

  1. Michigan Panthers – Andrew Farmer II, OLB, Lane College
  2. Pittsburgh Maulers – CJ Turner, WR, SE Louisiana
  3. Houston Gamblers – Brady Russell, TE, Colorado
  4. Memphis Showboats, Trea Shropshire, WR, UAB
  5. New Orleans Breakers – Jake Bobo, WR, UCLA
  6. New Jersey Generals – Adam Korsak, P, Rutgers
  7. Philadelphia Stars – Trey Botts, DL, Colorado State-Pueblo
  8. Birmingham Stallions – Mark Evans II, Ol, Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Round 9

  1. Michigan Panthers – Chim Okorafor, OT, Benedictine
  2. Pittsburgh Maulers – Jacob Slade, DT, Michigan State
  3. Houston Gamblers – Jason Taylor II, S, Oklahoma State
  4. Memphis Showboats – Silas Dzansi, OT, Virginia Tech
  5. New Orleans Breakers – Alex Palczewski, OT, Illinois
  6. New Jersey Generals – Jalen Holston, RB, Virginia Tech
  7. Philadelphia Stars – Destin Mack, CB, Citadel
  8. Birmingham Stallions – B.J. Thompson, DE, Stephen F. Austin

Round 10

  1. Michigan Panthers – Sidy Sow, OG, Eastern Michigan
  2. Pittsburgh Maulers – Ethan Evans, K, Wingate
  3. Houston Gamblers – Colby Reeder, LB, Iowa State
  4. Memphis Showboats – Antonio Fletcher, S, Southern Illinois
  5. New Orleans Breakers – Tyler Baker-Williams, CB, NC State
  6. New Jersey Generals – Nick Zecchino, LS, Purdue
  7. Philadelphia Stars – Dre Terry, LB, Alabama A&M
  8. Birmingham Stallions – Starling Thomas V, CB, UAB
  9. New Jersey Generals – Rey Estes, CB, Grambling State**