Novak Djokovic’s French Open title defense — and his hold on the No. 1 ranking — are still alive thanks to a 7-5, 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 comeback victory over 22-year-old Italian Lorenzo Musetti in a third-round match that lasted 4½ hours and did not conclude until Sunday after 3 a.m., the latest finish in tournament history.
It is Djokovic’s 369th win at a Grand Slam tournament, tying Roger Federer for the most in tennis history.
Djokovic briefly looked as if he might be in trouble against Musetti but instead ran away with the final two sets and now will continue his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title and fourth at Roland Garros.
Gasping for breath while leaning over with hands on knees, or taking so much time between points that he earned a warning, the 37-year-old Djokovic appeared to be exhausted at times against his much younger, backward-hat-wearing opponent. Musetti was propelled to the lead by a one-handed backhand, a deft touch at the net and a 5-for-5 success rate on break chances.
People are also reading…
But Djokovic is nothing if not a determined problem-solver. And once Djokovic got headed in the right direction in the fourth set, thanks to playing more aggressively on service returns and closer to the baseline during groundstrokes exchanges, the 30th-ranked Musetti could not withstand the charge.
One telling stat: Djokovic improved to 39-11 in fifth sets over his career; Musetti fell to 2-6.
That weather was partially responsible for Djokovic and Musetti not setting foot on court until 10:30 p.m., more than two hours later than originally planned. Tournament organizers moved an additional contest into the safe-from-rain main stadium ahead of Djokovic-Musetti to try and make sure the third round would get completed on time.
Elsewhere Saturday, Grand Slam winners Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka reached the women’s fourth round.
Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina, seeded fourth, beat Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-4, 6-2. Two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka, seeded second, followed her on Court Philippe Chatrier and won against Paula Badosa 7-5, 6-1.
Russian-born Varvara Gracheva of France advanced to the fourth round of a major for the first time after downing Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 7-5, 6-3.
On the men’s side, fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev rallied from 4-1 down in the fifth set to beat 26th-seeded Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3), clinching victory with an ace.
Former U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev won 7-6 (4), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 against Tomas Machac and 21st-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime beat No.15-seeded American Ben Shelton 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
