Defending champion and world No 1 Novak Djokovic survived a five-set near five-hour epic against Lorenzo Musetti in the latest-ever finish to a match in French Open history.
The reigning champion showcased the iron will that has made him one of the game’s greatest players to avoid defeat in a thrilling contest that got underway at 10.40pm local time on Saturday.
“He played a fantastic match and came very close to victory,” Djokovic said on court.
The 37-year-old recovered from an early loss of serve and went toe-to-toe with the Italian in the draining first set before edging in front with a crucial break thanks to some incredible defending.
Djokovic was soon in cruise control in the second set with a spectacular drop that gave him a 3-1 lead.
But Musetti broke back and drew level at 4-4 before saving a set point in a high-quality tie-break to level the match.
The 30th seed then took his game up a few notches to break and surge ahead in the third set, before sealing it comfortably as alarm bells began to ring for a weary-looking Djokovic, who was forced to dig deep to haul himself level.
Djokovic, who ranted about the state of the surface, was also called for a time violation by umpire Adel Nour in the decider, losing his first serve. He pleaded, “Have a little bit of understanding.”
Nevertheless, he rediscovered his rhythm to bagel his exhausted opponent at the ungodly hour of 3.08am.