Key stats
If you were looking for a way to sum up Musetti’s performance, try: comprehensive and consistent. The Italian hit 31 winners to just 17 unforced errors, converted six of 11 break points, and won 74 per cent of the points on his first serve.
The win also gave Musetti a milestone while denying Monfils one. The Frenchman was seeking his 40th main-draw win at Roland-Garros, which would have tied him with Yannick Noah for most singles wins by a Frenchman at the tournament in the Open era.
Instead it was Musetti who picked up the 50th tour-level clay-court win of his career. He’s also now 8-0 against players ranked outside the Top 5 at Roland-Garros.
Musetti’s take
On beating Monfils for the first time: “It’s been one of my toughest challenges of my career, playing Gael. I knew the crowd was on his side, but if we were in Italy, it would be the same for me. But [because of that] I’m more proud of this victory …I was a little bit under pressure at the beginning: I was not serving very well and had to focus a little bit more. The second set and the third set was one of my best matches so far. I’m really happy to be in the third round.
On that key 5-5 game in the first set: “One point can make really a difference, especially playing best-of-five, the match can always turn around. … I had my nerves really cool tonight, so I’m really happy with my performance.”