Novak Djokovic is on the revenge train

With the win over Alex De Minaur, Novak Djokovic reached the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time since 2015. Djokovic now holds the record of reaching the most semi-finals in Masters 1000 tournaments with 77, overtaking Rafael Nadal.

The world No.1 came into this match after beating Lorenzo Musetti in the third round. Musetti beat him last year in this tournament from one set down and was looking to do the same this year. Musetti started well and was up a break early in the first set before an incident happened which turned the match on a dime.

Djokovic wanted one ball mark to be checked if it was out or not. One segment of the crowd suddenly started booing him, and Djokovic reacted by orchestrating the crowd. Musetti was 40-0 up on his serve when this happened but got broken by Djokovic, who started playing much better from that moment. The habit of European crowds booing the players whenever they talk to the umpire or ask to check a mark (both allowed by the rules and within a player's right to do so) is obnoxious.

Djokovic gets his revenge over Lorenzo Musetti and Alex De Minaur

Novak Djokovic got his revenge over Lorenzo Musetti who defeated Djokovic last year in Monte Carlo. The Italian is a nightmare to play on these slow courts and showed some flashes of his beautiful game, but Djokovic was sharp and focused enough to get the victory despite not playing his best tennis. The interaction with the crowd changed the match for Djokovic, and the world No.1 had this say when asked about it in the press conference.

Djokovic said: "If people start to react in a certain way that I don't think I deserve, I don't think it's fair, if I don't think it's anyhow explainable, then, I'll react back. I have grown up with that kind of mentality that if somebody is doing something wrong to you, you stand your ground."

The ability of Djokovic to transform all the hate into more intensity, more focus and more stamina makes him so unique. There are not many athletes in the world who have such a mechanism.

Novak Djokovic continued his revenge journey and took out Alex De Minaur, who beat Djokovic in straight sets at the United Cup at the beginning of this year. Djokovic started the match poorly with some unforced errors in his first service game but managed to hold his serve, which proved vital.

The Serbian was struggling with the heat and was looking quite lethargic, but after some untimely unforced errors from the racquet of De Minaur, Djokovic broke in the 12th game and took the first set. The second set was just the players trading breaks and seemingly struggling physically. The shade came towards the later stage of the set, and Djokovic improved a bit, just enough to oust the Australian.

De Minaur defended well but served very poorly, which cost him the match. This was an ugly win for the world no. 1, but a win is a win. Djokovic would want to keep his revenge train continuing, as he is targeting Jannik Sinner, who defeated him at the Australian Open. However, he will need to raise his level for this to happen.

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