Day eight of the French Open is upon us but just a mere few hours after Novak Djokovic played late into the night on Saturday to seal his place in the fourth round. The Serb defeated Lorenzo Musetti 7-5 6-7 (6-8) 2-6 6-3 6-0 in defence of his title, playing until 3.07am local time.
Djokovic appeared to be on the brink of exiting the competition but found some form in the fourth set before bageling his Italian opponent in the decider.
However, with no strict curfew in place such as with Wimbledon, Djokovic and Musetti had to play out their encounter on Court Philippe Chatrier in what ended up becoming the latest finish in the tournament’s history.
But the 24-time Grand Slam winner refused to bemoan the chaotic schedule after the match. “I don’t want to get into it,” Djokovic said shortly after walking off court. “I have my opinions but I think there are great things to talk about as we are talking about this match today and both Lorenzo’s and my performance stands out. I don’t want to be talking about [the] schedule.”
