Novak Djokovic kept his title defense afloat Roland Garros and clung to the number one ranking after the comeback 7-5, 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 against Lorenzo Musettiin a third-round duel that lasted four and a half hours and concluded on Sunday at 3 a.m., the longest-running match in the history of the tournament.
It was the 369th victory of Djokovic in a date grand slamwhich tied Roger Federer for the largest amount in tennis history. The Serbian star will be able to break the mark on Monday, when he faces the Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo in the Round of 16.
For a moment it seemed that Djokovic was shipwrecked before Musettibut finally overwhelmed the 22-year-old Italian in the decisive set to continue his efforts to increase his record of 25 tennis titles. grand slam and the fourth in Roland Garros.
“I was in tremendous trouble and I must give credit to Lorenzo for making me feel uncomfortable on the court and playing excellent tennis, at a very high level. At one point, I didn’t know what to do,” he said. Djokovic, 37 years old. “I suffered in the third set and at the beginning of the fourth.”
Trying to get a break by putting his hands on his knee or taking as much time as possible between points and which led to a warning from the chair umpire, Djokovic37, looked extremely tired during several passages against a much younger rival.
But Djokovic He is a problem solver and once he started heading in the right direction in the fourth set, Musetti (30th seed) could no longer fight. One statistic says it all: Djokovic He is 39-11 in fifth sets in his career, Musetti 2-6.
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