(Paris) Novak Djokovic, world No.1 and holder of the trophy, escaped the nighttime trap set by the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (30e) 7-5, 6-7 (6/8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, at the end of the night and the effort on Sunday in the third round of Roland-Garros.
Trailing two sets to one at 1:30 a.m., in a match started after 10:30 p.m. Saturday on Central Court, Djokovic ended up overcoming Musetti at 3:06 a.m., after 4:29 a.m. of play. Never a match had never ended so late at Roland-Garros.
“This is perhaps the most beautiful match I have played here,” Djokovic said in French, still on the court. It’s impossible to sleep now with all this adrenaline. If you have a party, I’ll come! »
Djokovic, who has just celebrated his 37th birthday, is so far experiencing a season light years from his usual standards: he has not yet won a single tournament or even played a final.
In a match started late, the fault of a program still turned upside down by the rain, “Nole” came within one point of leading two sets to zero, when he led 6 points to 5 in the decisive game. But his second soft ball was taken advantage of by Musetti.
Two points later, at exactly 1 a.m., the Italian equalized at one set all, with a forehand topspin followed by a backhand volley.
Then Djokovic went through the third set like a ghost, apparently out of breath, sometimes bent double, as if in slow motion, without energy or flame, and allowed Musetti to take the advantage two sets to one, by releasing a final volley without any conviction.
On the verge of unscrewing, as if unbalanced during certain points, the world No. 1 found who knows where the resources to revive himself when there seemed to be no way out. A break, then two to lead 5-2, and pocket the fourth set 6-3. And a lone rider to finish in the decisive round, with a final winning return.
In the round of 16, the Serbian with 24 Grand Slam titles will face the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (27e), only one round lost over his first three rounds.
Daniil Medvedev will play in the round of 16
PHOTO JEAN-FRANCOIS BADIAS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Daniel Medvedev
Daniel Medvedev, 5e world, had to battle for 3 hours 23 minutes on Saturday to overcome the Czech Tomas Machac (34e) 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 and qualify for the round of 16 at Roland Garros.
While he had benefited from the retirement of his opponent Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round (6-1, 5-0 in favor of the Russian), Medvedev admitted to having played a “very tough” match this time.
“After losing the third set and at the start of the fourth, I managed to stay focused. I had in mind to go to the end. It didn’t necessarily mean winning, but fighting to the end. The match could go either way, so I’m happy to have won,” he commented.
His opponent of the day was only playing the main draw of Roland-Garros for the second time, but he had already reached 3e tour at the beginning of the year at the Australian Open and remained on a victory against Novak Djokovic last week in Geneva.
On Monday, Medvedev will face Australian Alex De Minaur (11e).
Until this year, the 28-year-old Russian affirmed his pure and simple hatred of clay: he never went beyond the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros (played in 2021) while he won the International United States (2021) and played finals at the Australian Open (2021, 2022, 2024) and the US Open (2019, 2023). At Wimbledon, his best result was the semi-final played last year.
In his seven previous appearances on Parisian soil, Medvedev has lost five times in the first round, including last year.
Facing Machac, he took 75 minutes to win the first set in the tiebreaker. Then he slightly shortened the second (57 minutes) by breaking to lead 6-5 and serve for the set.
On his momentum, he made the break at the start of the third set, but Machac came back in stride and won five more games in a row to win the set.
The standoff resumed in the fourth set but the Czech broke down at the end: trailing 5-4, he offered a match point on a missed smash then hit a final shot well out of bounds.
Alexander Zverev, seeded fourth, prevailed 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6 and 7-6 (6) against Tallon Griekspoor (No. 26), of the Netherlands, on Saturday .