Novak Djokovicwho showed obvious problems in his right knee, overcame adversity against Francisco Cerúndolo, in a battle that concluded 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5 and 6-3 in favor of the Serbian. The Belgrade legend had to face a tough duel of 4 hours and 39 minutes (the longest at Roland Garros) to access the quarterfinals.
The victory, which keeps him with options to preserve the number 1 in the worldstalked by the Italian Jannik Sinnerturns it into the tennis player with the most Grand Slam victories, 370, one more than the Swiss Roger Federer, whom he also outnumbered in the top eight phase at Grand Slams with 59 qualifications. The European keeps the race alive for his 25 big to surpass the Australian Margaret Court on the roof of world tennis.
Nole He survived a second consecutive marathon, after which he forced the Italian to face in the third round Lorenzo Musetti and, once again, he was reborn from his ashes to further enlarge his legend. In less than 48 hours, the Serbian has played ten Grand Slam sets and very intense ones, nine hours on the court, including his longest duel in the tournament, which by two minutes surpassed the one he played against in 2013 Rafael Nadal.
This time, in addition to the Argentine, he had to overcome some discomfort in his knee that appeared in the middle of the year. second set and they had him against the ropes until he came back strong at the end of the quarter. A return that surprised cerundolo, the last albiceleste representative of the individual team, who fell again in the round of 16, like last year against the Dane Holger Runeafter having achieved victory against number 1.
“He played against a great game and showed great character on the field. I think that deserved to win. The energy of the stadium and the people infected me. Something happened with my knee at the beginning of the second set, I took some anti-inflammatories and at the end of the fourth set it started to work better. It’s been nine hours since the last game and today I’m going to go straight to bed.”, slipped after the laborious conquest. He even improvised a series of applause against the rival that put him on the ropes. Djokovic will be measured for a place in the semifinals against the winner of the duel that the Dane will cheer on Holger Runeseventh favorite, or the American Taylor Fritz.
At 37 years old, staying up late leaves its consequences and the Serbian, who finished at 3 in the morning his third round duel against the Italian Lorenzo Musettisuffered in the form of problems in his right knee, which diminished him against cerundolo. There was nothing to predict that when he started he went into airplane mode, passing over the Argentine, who for the first time was playing in the Paris headquarters, packed on a sunny afternoon, for the first time facing the world number 1 and for the second time calling the doors of the quarterfinals.
But in the fourth game, when the Argentine knocked down two breaking balls, the Serbian called for medical assistance and for a long time was treated for his right knee, which suddenly became another character in the game. . His game went down completely and Fran He was able to enter the competition, look into the eyes of the winner of 24 majors, who showed his most human face and barely resisted the attacks of the Buenos Aires native. However, The Argentine lacked forcefulnesswho wasted up to eight break point chances in that set, and Only when he scored the ninth did he win the partial and tie the contest.
Djokovic He was going through his hardest moment, his taciturn passage through the center, his annoying gestures, his fights with the state of the field and with the stands denoted that the machinery was not fueled at the usual level. Cerúndolo also realized this and began to dominate the points, to make the Serbian run to test that knee, lest it be one of those tricks that he has used in the past.
Five games in a row fell to the Argentine, who was able to take the lead in the third set, punishing the Serbian who was shooting out of inertia thanks to his experience, but without wanting to push his physicality to the limit. The doctors returned to the scene before the start of the fourth set and questions loomed over the fate of the show.
It didn’t look good and even less so when Cerúndolo went 4-2 in his favor and the Serbian remained paralyzed, content to stay afloat while waiting for a miracle. And it happened. The European tied 4 to 4 and the public came to his rescue. The encouragement of the spectators who were at the Philippe Chatrier and in the head of the Buenos Aires native a labyrinth with difficult exit began to arise.
The Argentine wasted a ball to go up 5-4 with a serve to close the match, but once again he lacked forcefulness, a sacrilege against rivals of the Serbian’s stature, who did not waste the gift and forced a fifth set. Things were getting difficult for Fran, who only had three five-set matches played, facing a monument like Djokovic, who had the public in his favor and who seemed to no longer suffer from his knee.
Experience was the key. The Serbian went up 2-0 in the fifth and, although cerundolo managed to tie, it was already clear that the duel was on a wire and that there is no tightrope walker better than the Serbian, who imposed his personality to continue expanding his legend.
