Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud will play their first Monte Carlo Masters matches on Wednesday. The Serb is facing Alejandro Tabilo in the second round while the Norwegian awaits the winner of the first-round clash between Roberto Bautista Agut and Brandon Nakashima.
Novak and Casper met outside the courts in the Principality during the media day. The 2023 Roland Garros final rivals exchanged nice words, with Djokovic cracking jokes, as usual. Novak reminded Casper he was not so nice to him during last year's semi-final.
Djokovic and Ruud battled for a place in the final in Monte Carlo 12 months ago. The Norwegian defeated the legend for the first time in his career, earning a 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 victory in two hours and 17 minutes for his first top-3 triumph.
Novak collected 11 points more than his rival thanks to a dominant performance in the second set. They both provided four breaks, and Casper emerged at the top with a late one in the final set. Ruud clinched an early break in the first game of the match with a forehand winner.
He served well in games two and four to open a 3-1 gap. Djokovic missed another forehand in the fifth game, dropping serve for the second time and sending his rival further in front. Novak pulled one break back in the sixth game and closed the seventh with a serve & volley combo.
Casper moved 5-3 up with an ace and served for the opener at 5-4. He produced a fine hold and clinched the opener 6-4 in 50 minutes, earning his first set against Novak. Djokovic served at 24% in the second set, and no one could notice that.
He played against no break points and kept the pressure on the other side. Ruud hit a loose forehand in the second game and dropped serve. The Serb held at love in the next one for 3-0 and clinched the fifth game with a drop shot winner.
Casper sprayed three double faults in the sixth game, losing serve again and falling 5-1 behind. Novak served for the set in game seven and closed it with a service winner, clinching the second part of the duel and forcing a decider after an hour and 28 minutes.
The Norwegian left the second set behind and made a fresh start in the decider. He earned a break chance in the second game with a backhand winner and seized it after the Serb's forehand error for a 2-0 advantage. Casper served well in games three and five to open a 4-1 gap.
Djokovic made the final push and erased the deficit with three straight games. The two-time champion pulled the break back at love in game seven and held for 4-4. Rune held for 5-4 and welcomed the rival's double fault in game ten to seal the deal and celebrated a notable victory.
