Novak Djokovic played an epic five-set match against Italian Lorenzo Musetti at Roland Garros, which ended at 03:07 local time in Paris.
In the third round, which started at 22:37 on Saturday, at the end of a day affected by heavy rain at the French Open, the defending champion fought back from two sets behind to win 7-5 6-7 (6 – 8) 2-6 6-3 6-0.
The 37-year-old from Serbia looked set to bow out at the hands of inspired 30th seed Musetti.
But a rejuvenated Djokovic found new momentum in the fourth set, breaking serve six times in a row before cruising to a comfortable win in the deciding set.
The pair embraced passionately at the end of the match, with Djokovic joining the crowd at Court Philippe Chatrier in applauding his 22-year-old rival for the latest finish in French Open history.
After winning in 4 hours and 29 minutes, the world No. 1 player continues to compete for a fourth French Open title. He will face Argentina’s 23rd seed Francisco Cerundolo in the round of 16.
“I don’t want to get involved [the schedule]. I have my opinion, but I think there’s a lot to talk about in today’s game.
“Lorenzo and I both performed very well, so I don’t want to talk about the schedule. I think there are things that could have been handled differently, but there is also a wonderful feeling in winning a game [so late]”.
