Djokovic defeats Musetti in latest-ever finish at French Open

Novak Djokovic has once again made history, this time by defeating No.30 seed Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the latest-ever finish at the French Open on Sunday morning.

The match lasted four hours and 29 minutes, finishing at 3:07am as the top seed made his way through to the round of 16.

At one stage it looked as though the defending champion’s time in Paris was going to end, with Djokovic down two sets to one and struggling to breathe on court.

In true champion fashion, the 24-time tennis Grand Slam winner powered back into the match, winning 10 of the last 11 games to finish in style.

Djokovic in trouble as Musetti plays out of his skin

In what was one of the matches of the tournament so far at Roland-Garros, Djokovic and Musetti went toe-to-toe across two enthralling opening sets.

Djokovic was broken early, but clawed his way back immediately. Serving to stay in the set at 6-5, Musetti couldn’t hack it and conceded another break, handing a set lead to the Serbian.

The second set was even closer, with Musetti powering back from 4-1 down to force a tiebreaker.

Djokovic had a set point at 6-5 in the breaker, but wasn’t able to capitalise. Musetti made no mistake when he got his first opportunity, levelling the match at a set apiece as the clock passed midnight local time.

After losing the second set, Djokovic began to wane.

“I was in a very tricky position,” said Djokovic of the third set after the match. “He was the better player on court at the time.

“It was a point when I had no solutions, it was a conundrum, a problem I had to solve. I couldn’t figure out what to do against him.”

Musetti broke twice, claiming the set 6-2 and moving to within a set of eliminating the world No.1 from the French Open.

Groundhog Day for Musetti as Djokovic digs deep

This was not the first time Musetti had had Djokovic on the ropes in Paris.

Three years ago, the young Italian held a two sets to love lead over Djokovic on Court Philippe-Chatrier. He went on to lose 16 of the next 17 games before retiring 4-0 down in the fifth set.

This time around, it was much of the same. From 2-2 in the fourth set, Djokovic channelled the crowd’s support and won 10 of the next 11 games, closing out the match with a brutal forehand winner off Musetti’s serve.

“They started chanting my name, and I just felt a great new wave of willpower and energy,” the Serbian explained afterwards. “I think I was a different player from that moment onwards. I think from that moment onwards I only lost one game.”

Coming into his third-round match against Musetti, tennis bookmakers had Djokovic at $5 to win the tournament. Off the back of his performance, odds have plummeted to $3.75, with the top seed now just behind Carlos Alcaraz ($3.25) and ahead of Jannik Sinner ($4).

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