Defending champion Novak Djokovic survived a fourth-round elimination scare on Monday, June 3 to beat Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo in a five-set thriller 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the ongoing French Open.
The Serbian was trailing by two sets to one and looked out of sorts but displayed incredible resilience to script a dramatic win.
Notably, this is Djokovic's second consecutive win five-set win in the ongoing edition. He pipped Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the third round 7-5, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 and showcased exemplary resilience in the fourth round as well.
Djokovic confessed that he struggled during the second set due to injury and wasn't sure whether he could continue playing.
"I started feeling the pain (in set two) and asked for the physio treatment and the medical timeout and tried to take care of it," Djokovic was quoted as saying by ATP. "It did disrupt me definitely in play. For two sets, two sets and a half, I didn't want to stay in the rally too long. Every time he would make sudden drop shots or change directions, I would not be feeling comfortable to do the running.
"At one point I didn't know, to be honest, whether I should continue or not with what's happening."
Djokovic's win has helped him book a berth in the quarterfinals. The 37-year-old will take on Casper Ruud in a rematch of the final of the previous edition. It was Djokovic who had defeated Ruud in the summit clash of the men's singles at Roland Garros in 2023 7–6, 6–3, 7–5.
The win was Djokovic's third French Open title and his 23rd Grand Slam title. Meanwhile, the seventh seed, Ruud battled past Taylor Fritz of the USA in a four-set thriller 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the fourth round to book his quarterfinal clash against Djokovic.
