PARIS — Novak Djokovic’s French Open title and No. 1 ranking remained intact after he came from behind to beat 22-year-old Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in a third-round match that lasted 4 1/2 hours and wasn’t finished until just after 3 a.m. Sunday, the latest finish in the tournament’s history.
It was Djokovic’s 369th Grand Slam title, tying him with Roger Federer for the most wins in tennis history.
Djokovic appeared to struggle at one point against Musetti but stormed ahead in the final set to remain in contention for a record 25th Grand Slam title and fourth Roland Garros title.
The 37-year-old Djokovic looked exhausted at times against his much younger Italian opponent, leaning in with his hands on his knees while trying to break and waiting too long between points while receiving a warning, as Musetti took the lead with a one-handed backhand, a deft touch at the net and five-for-five success on his break chances.
But Djokovic is a player who is always up to solving problems, and when he started to move in the right direction in the fourth set, being more aggressive on serve returns and getting closer to the baseline in groundstroke exchanges, Musetti, ranked 30th in the world, found it difficult to withstand his aggression.
One impressive stat: Djokovic has gone 39-11 in fifth sets over his career, while Musetti is 2-6.
Djokovic has topped the ATP rankings for more weeks than anyone else but unless he returns to the French Open final he will lose that spot to Musetti’s compatriot, Jannik Sinner, who is currently ranked No. 2.
Because a loss in this match would have been the latest in a series of disappointing results in the 2024 season for the oft-dominant Djokovic, who has won 12 of his last 20 Grand Slam tournaments and has not lost so early in a major tournament since the Australian Open in January 2017.
Not only has he yet to win a trophy in any tournament this season, he has also yet to reach a final.
So that’s how Djokovic assessed his state of mind when he arrived in Paris a week ago with a 14-6 record this year: “Expectations are low, hopes are high.”
Those words may have summed up how Djokovic felt going into the fourth set against Musetti, who had never made it past the fourth round at any Grand Slam.
Heavy-clad spectators, often yelling Djokovic’s first name or his two-syllable nickname, “Nore,” heard plenty of cheering on Court Philippe Chatrier, too, echoing beneath the retractable roof that had been closed after a rain shower that began early Saturday morning — the fifth day in a row of rain.
Due to the weather, Djokovic and Musetti didn’t take to the court until 10:30 p.m., more than two hours later than originally scheduled, so tournament organizers decided to play an extra match before Djokovic vs. Musetti in the main stadium, where rain was not a concern, to ensure the third round would finish on time.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Djokovic said when asked about the decision to reschedule the match. “I have my opinions, but I think there’s a lot to talk about because we’re talking about today’s match and Lorenzo and my performance, which has been outstanding.”
“I don’t want to talk about the schedule. I think some things could have been handled differently, but there’s beauty in that. If it was the last game of the tournament, so would winning a game at 3:30 in the morning, but it’s not.”
This was a rematch of the 2021 French Open, where Musetti was just 19 years old and making his Grand Slam debut, and took the first two sets from Djokovic in tiebreaks. But Djokovic refused to give up, taking the next two sets before Musetti finally retired, complaining of back pain and cramps, while trailing 0-4 in the fifth set.
Musetti took the lead again but succumbed to Djokovic.
This time, Djokovic was leading 6-5 in the second-set tiebreak and was one point away from taking a two-set lead when a decent lob from Djokovic turned into an overhead winner from Musetti, and then a missed forehand from Djokovic gave Musetti his first set point, which he converted with a volley winner.
During the subsequent substitution, Djokovic got into an argument with chair umpire Adele Nour over whether the clay court should be cleaned more frequently.
“That means [a] “Is it OK to clean the courts every five games?” Djokovic asked. “The reason I want the courts cleaned is because we have a lot of clay courts. I don’t know why you would ask for that at 1 a.m. after you’ve waited and played 20 hours.”
He also lost the next set.
Musetti must have known, as must the heavily-clad, vociferous fans, that Djokovic wouldn’t go away quietly.
Suddenly, Djokovic was broken for 3-2 in the fourth set. He pumped his fist and, sitting in a chair on the sideline, motioned for the fans to make more noise. And they obliged.
A similar scene played out at the end of the set, when Djokovic ran a long way to reach the ball, then sent it over the net at an impossible angle, waving his arms around and pointing to his ears.
Soon he was the winner, roaring across the court while his wife jumped up and down in the stands.
On Saturday, fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the fifth set to beat 26th-seeded Taron Griekspoor of the Netherlands 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3) to reach the fourth round.
Zverev, who won the Italian Open last month, has reached the semi-finals at the last three French Opens and avoided his earliest exit at Roland Garros since losing in the first round in 2017.
Zverev’s trial in Germany on suspicion of assaulting a woman began on Friday. Prosecutors allege that he pushed his ex-partner against a wall and choked her after an argument in Berlin in May 2020.
Griekspoor failed to reach the fourth round of a major tournament for the first time and fell to 0-11 against top-five players.
In other men’s singles third-round matches, former U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev defeated Tomas Maczak 7-6 (4), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4, and 21st-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime beat 15th-seeded American Ben Shelton 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
Their game was stopped due to rain on Friday night, and Shelton had a left shoulder issue and needed treatment from a trainer.
“I think playing with a wet ball and a muddy ball last night took a little bit of strain on my shoulder,” Shelton said, “but I just gave it my all today and gave 100 percent.”
A few hours after his loss, another American, 14th seed Tommy Paul, was eliminated 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 by Argentina’s 23rd seed Francisco Cernudolo. That left 12th seed Taylor Fritz as the only American remaining in the tournament. Fritz made his first appearance in the fourth round in Paris with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (4), 5-7, 6-3 night match victory over unseeded Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Fritz, who has reached the quarterfinals of all three other majors, became the first indoor player to reach the round of 16 in men’s singles at Roland Garros since 2020.
Even before a trainer massaged Shelton’s left shoulder when play resumed, it was clear he wasn’t hitting his usual high-powered serves. Auger-Aliassime, a 2021 U.S. Open semifinalist, won the first five games Saturday to close out the opening set and then led 4-0 in the next.
“My intentions were clear and my execution was correct. I was able to do what I wanted,” said Auger-Aliassime, who will now face No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz. “At the same time, I was able to get free points from him and return his serve pretty well.”
The game was halted after rain fell for the fifth day in a row, and rain returned shortly before 1 p.m., bringing with it a chilly wind and a temperature that dropped to 14 degrees Celsius (57 F).
Medvedev wore leg warmers in the first set against Macavs, who beat Djokovic in last week’s Geneva Open semifinals, but took them off in the second set.
Late in the match, there was an unusual moment when referee Damien Dumusois had to pick up a pigeon that had fallen on the court.
The Associated Press and ESPN’s Darcy Main contributed to this story.
