"When you're depressed, angry with Novak Djokovic's game, remember this night": Fans astonished as Serb beats Lorenzo Musetti in French Open thriller
Novak Djokovic mounted a stunning comeback to emerge victorious against Lorenzo Musetti in the pair's third-round clash at the French Open. Both Djokovic and Musetti toiled for a staggering four hours and 29 minutes, with the match starting on Saturday, June 1, and finishing at 3:08 AM local time in Paris on Sunday, June 2. Unsurprisingly, the 37-year-old's steely determination to win left fans astonished.
Djokovic clinched the first set narrowly, and had a set point to win the second as well. However, he failed to capitalize on the chance, with Musetti going on to take the second set after a tense tiebreak. The Italian furthered his chances of ousting the Serb by taking the third set as well.
However, Djokovic, as he has done on so many occasions in the past, mounted a seeminly impossible fightback in the fourth set. The Serb stayed put on the baseline and played with devastating precision, leveling things up in style. A one-sided fifth set saw the World No. 1 at his imperious best as Musetti looked worn out. Ultimately, Djokovic registered a 7-5, 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over the 22-year-old Italian.
The Serb's fans, exalted by his remarkable powers of recovery in the dead of the Parisian night, expressed their astonishment on X (formerly Twitter). One set of fans fired a reminder to those who have questioned Djokovic after a series of disappointing results so far this year.
"When you're depressed, and negative, and angry with Novak's game, and when you've given up hope, please remember this night," one fan wrote.
"Never count him out! This is Novak Djokovic, aka “The Goat”," commented another fan.
"No matter how many times I watch this movie, I never cease to be in awe at the ending. Novak Djokovic prevails over Lorenzo Musetti, playing bigger and better as the scoreboard pressure ratcheted up. Does this man know how to make a blockbuster match or what?" another fan chimed in.
"GREATEST OF ALL TIME! CONTINUES TO DIG DEEPER EVEN WHILE HIS LEVEL HASN'T BEEN AS GREAT. HE GAVE EVERY OUNCE TO WIN!" wrote yet another fan.
Another set of fans hailed Djokovic's incredible resolve to keep going at the age of 37.
"How can a 37 year old tennis player drag a 22 year old tennis player into a 5th set playing for over 4 hours and it is the 22 year old that is looking tired. Novak Djokovic is not normal at all," wrote one fan.
"Don't ever go away, man. The living embodiment of what tennis is and means to all of us. 37 years old. Won it all. Still hustling at 3 AM in his constant pursuit of greatness. Novak Djokovic. That's it. That's the tweet," another fan weighed in.
"He's 37. THIRTY SEVEN. he's not at his best form, not at his peak fitness, yet he ALWAYS finds a way to switch gears. he was down & out after that 3rd set but all it took was 45 seconds of musetti playing poorly in the 4th for him to break & take complete control. unreal," commented another fan.
"A freakin 37 year old with an unreal stamina . No matter what happens after this thank you Nole. always proud of you . Till you hang up that racket no athlete can make me this emotional or invest this much," yet another fan chimed in.
"It was a great battle" - Novak Djokovic's assessment of epic French Open five-setter at the French Open
After the conclusion of the bruising encounter against Musetti on Court Philippe Chatrier, Djokovic empathized with the Italian. According to the Serb, Musetti's loss was "a shame". The 24-time Grand Slam winner also admitted that he had lady luck on his side in the fourth set.
"I said to him (Musetti, during the post-match handshake at the net) that it was a great battle. It was a shame for him to lose because he really wanted to win this match and it was very close. I had a bit of luck right at the beginning of the fourth set because he was the better player on the court at that time," Djokovic told Alex Corretja during his post-match, on-court interview.
The win helped Djokovic to equal great rival Roger Federer's record of 369 match wins at Majors. The Serb is slated to face No. 23 seed Francisco Cerundolo next in the fourth round on Monday, June 3. Whoever out of the two wins the match, will face either two-time runner-up Casper Ruud or 12th seed Taylor Fritz.