Paris [France], 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic performed even better in the fourth round of the French Open 2024 - Roland Garros, keeping his dream of remaining world No. 1 alive.
The Serbian looked to be out of the match against Francisco Cerundolo after trailing by two sets and a break, but he won 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
The 37-year-old defeated Lorenzo Musetti in five sets in the third round, which ended at 3:07 am on Sunday. The Serbian followed up his amazing win with another brilliant effort against Cerundolo and won five consecutive set matches for the first time since reaching the Roland Garros final in 2012.
"Thank you very much again, like the last match, once again the victory is your victory," Djokovic told the crowd in his on-court interview, as quoted by ATP.,
Despite a late finish against Musetti, Djokovic looked fresh in the first set against Cerundolo in the pair's first ATP head2head match. However, the top seed suffered a knee strain early in the second set, which limited his movement in the second and third sets and the Serbian looked set to lose after going 2-4 down in the fourth set.
"I started feeling pain [in set two] and I asked for physio treatment and medical timeouts and tried to take care of it. It definitely hampered my game. For two sets, two sets and a half, I Has not done this."I want to stay in the rally too long. Every time he suddenly drops a shot or changes direction, I don't feel comfortable running.''
“To be honest, at one point I didn't know whether I should continue what was happening or not,” said the 24-time major champion.
However, Djokovic refused to concede defeat, getting back to level at 4–4 before locking out the set at the end of the set to force a decider in front of a huge crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
In typical Djokovic fashion, the top seed found his best form in the fifth set.They won in four hours and 39 minutes after squandering the advantage of the break and being down 2–1. Djokovic's 370th major win moved him to the top spot in Grand Slam wins.
Djokovic has made it to the quarterfinals in Paris 15 consecutive times and 18 times in total. The seven-time Nitto ATP Finals champion, who has won clay-court majors three times, will next face Casper Ruud or Taylor Fritz.
Djokovic is aiming for a record-extending 25th major title and must reach the final to maintain his lead in the PIF ATP rankings at the end of the event.If second-seeded Jannik Sinner advances to the title match, he will become the 29th player in history (since 1973) to reach No. 1.
The Serbian looked to be out of the match against Francisco Cerundolo after trailing by two sets and a break, but he won 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
The 37-year-old defeated Lorenzo Musetti in five sets in the third round, which ended at 3:07 am on Sunday. The Serbian followed up his amazing win with another brilliant effort against Cerundolo and won five consecutive set matches for the first time since reaching the Roland Garros final in 2012.
"Thank you very much again, like the last match, once again the victory is your victory," Djokovic told the crowd in his on-court interview, as quoted by ATP.,
Despite a late finish against Musetti, Djokovic looked fresh in the first set against Cerundolo in the pair's first ATP head2head match. However, the top seed suffered a knee strain early in the second set, which limited his movement in the second and third sets and the Serbian looked set to lose after going 2-4 down in the fourth set.
"I started feeling pain [in set two] and I asked for physio treatment and medical timeouts and tried to take care of it. It definitely hampered my game. For two sets, two sets and a half, I Has not done this."I want to stay in the rally too long. Every time he suddenly drops a shot or changes direction, I don't feel comfortable running.''
“To be honest, at one point I didn't know whether I should continue what was happening or not,” said the 24-time major champion.
However, Djokovic refused to concede defeat, getting back to level at 4–4 before locking out the set at the end of the set to force a decider in front of a huge crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
In typical Djokovic fashion, the top seed found his best form in the fifth set.They won in four hours and 39 minutes after squandering the advantage of the break and being down 2–1. Djokovic's 370th major win moved him to the top spot in Grand Slam wins.
Djokovic has made it to the quarterfinals in Paris 15 consecutive times and 18 times in total. The seven-time Nitto ATP Finals champion, who has won clay-court majors three times, will next face Casper Ruud or Taylor Fritz.
Djokovic is aiming for a record-extending 25th major title and must reach the final to maintain his lead in the PIF ATP rankings at the end of the event.If second-seeded Jannik Sinner advances to the title match, he will become the 29th player in history (since 1973) to reach No. 1.
