Taylor Fritz falls in Monte Carlo to Lorenzo Musetti, projected to lose U.S. No. 1 position

A year ago, Taylor Fritz was a set away from reaching the Monte Carlo final.

On Sunday, he exited in the first round after being dealt a difficult opening test.

Lorenzo Musetti defeated the No. 13 seed Fritz, 6-4, 6-4. The Italian capitalized on four of his five break points to advance after 85 minutes, notching his 100th tour-level win in the process.

With the loss, Fritz is projected to lose his status as the No. 1-ranked American to Ben Shelton on April 15 when his Monte Carlo semifinal points officially fall off. Shelton overcame Frances Tiafoe in Sunday’s Houston final for his first clay-court title, a performance that propelled the left-hander to a career-high world No. 14 in Monday’s rankings. Neither Shelton nor Tiafoe are in the Monte Carlo draw.

Fritz has dropped four of six matches since capturing the Delray Beach crown in February.

In 2023, Musetti ousted Novak Djokovic on his way to the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 event. The 22-year-old and Djokovic are on a collision court to meet again in Monaco if both win their respective second-round contests.

Elsewhere, Borna Coric blew past No. 16 seed Alexander Bublik, 6-1, 6-1. Coric won 21 of his 27 second-serve return points in the 64-minute victory.

The Croatian next faces Jan-Lennard Struff, who battled back from a set and 2-5 down to deny Sebastian Baez, 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2. Tallon Griekspoor also advanced after topping Dominik Koepfer, 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-2.