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Match Details
Fixture: (1) Novak Djokovic vs (LL) Corentin Moutet
Date: May 10, 2024
Tournament: Italian Open 2024
Round: Second Round (Round of 64)
Venue: Foro Italico, Rome, Italy
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Clay
Prize money: £7,877,020
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN+
Novak Djokovic vs Corentin Moutet preview
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will take on lucky loser Corentin Moutet in the second round of the 2024 Italian Open on Friday, May 10.
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After not tasting defeat in Australia since 2018, Djokovic lost twice Down Under this year. He lost to Alex de Minaur in the United Cup quarterfinals, and his title defense at the Australian Open concluded in the semifinals against Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic returned to action a month later at the Indian Wells Masters, where he was stunned by Luca Nardi in the third round. After another brief hiatus, he competed directly on clay at the Monte-Carlo Masters.
Djokovic secured wins over Roman Safiullin, Lorenzo Musetti, and Alex de Minaur before losing to Casper Ruud in the semifinals. He skipped the Madrid Open, and as the top seed at the Italian Open, received a bye into the second round.
Moutet initially lost in the qualifying rounds of the Italian Open but got a second lease of life as a lucky loser. He was up against Roman Safiullin in the first round.
Moutet lost the first set from a winning position as he led by a break twice. The two were evenly matched in the second set, though the Frenchman outplayed Safiullin in the tie-break to take the set. He raced to a 4-0 lead in the decider and remained in front to score a 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2 comeback win.
Novak Djokovic vs Corentin Moutet head-to-head
Djokovic leads Moutet 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2019 Paris Masters in straight sets.
Novak Djokovic vs Corentin Moutet odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Novak Djokovic vs Corentin Moutet prediction
Moutet didn't let his second shot go to waste as he rallied from a set down to beat Safiullin. He got better and better as the match went on, and struck 24 winners compared to 22 unforced errors.
It hasn't been an ideal season for Djokovic as he hasn't even reached a final so far. However, he has a great track record in Rome and has made the quarterfinals at the very least every year since his debut.
Even though Djokovic has six titles at the venue compared to Rafael Nadal's 10, the former is just three wins shy of the latter's record of 70 wins. The Italian Open has proven to be a turning point for the Serb quite often in the lead-up to the French Open.
Moutet did well to capitalize on his opportunity as a lucky loser to make it this far. However, it's unlikely that he will go any further. He has lost all 10 of his previous matches against top-10 players, including one against Djokovic. The Serb will be expected to make a winning start here.
Pick: Novak Djokovic to win in straight sets.
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