Musetti beats Fritz in straight sets to progress at Monte Carlo Masters

Unseeded players Borna Coric of Croatia and Lorenzo Musetti of Italy advanced to the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday.

Musetti downed 13th-seeded American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 and was clinical in converting four of his five break points in the first clay-court Masters of the season.

Coric earlier toppled 16th-seeded Alexander Bublik 6-1, 6-1, breaking his serve six times and saving the only break point he faced against the imposing Kazakh.

Big-serving Jan-Lennard Struff had nine aces in a 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory against Argentine Sebastian Baez, who conceded 24 break-point chances. Struff converted only four of them. Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor also advanced with a 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-2 win against German Dominik Koepfer.

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic is looking to win the tournament for the third time but first since 2015. He hasn't made it past the quarterfinals since, and he could face defending champion Andrey Rublev in the quarters.

Second-ranked Jannik Sinner looks to continue his strong start to the year. The Australian Open champion from Italy is 22-1 with three titles, including the Miami Open.

The presence of Grand Slam winners Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev means the top-four ranked men's players are all in action at the Monte Carlo Country Club, where they have byes into the second round.

But record 11-time Monte Carlo champion Rafael Nadal is out as he continues to struggle with injury.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis