Top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic moved into the fourth round at the French Open during the early hours of Sunday morning following a monumental five-set victory over the 30th seed Lorenzo Musetti.
Djokovic, who is seeking a fourth title in Paris and a record 25th singles crown at a Grand Slam tournament, triumphed 7-5, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, after a night-session match lasting four and a half hours that ended at 3.08am – the latest finish in tournament history.
"I was in real trouble and credit to Lorenzo for making me uncomfortable on the court and playing some really amazing tennis," said Djokovic.
"Very high level. At one point, I didn’t know, really, what to do. It didn’t feel great playing him that third set and the beginning of the fourth."
Persistent rain played havoc with Saturday's schedules. Tournament organisers – already on the back foot over delays in ordering a crackdown on the poor behaviour of fans – scrapped the doubles matches planned for Saturday to concentrate on the third round singles matches in the men's and women's draws.
Matches rescheduled
Djokovic and Musetti had been slated to start at 8.15pm for the televised night session encounter on Court Philippe Chatrier.
But the unfinished men's singles game between 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov and the Dutch qualifier Zizou Bergs was inserted as an extra for the night-session ticket holders just after fourth seed Alexander Zverev had beaten Tallon Griekspoor to complete the day sessions.
The clash between Dimitrov and Bergs finished at 10.20pm with Dimitrov winning in four sets.
“Things could have been handled a different way,” Djokovic said of the rescheduling choice.
But the fans who were not forced to leave to catch the last metros home were regaled with a match for the ages.
Record in sight
Djokovic, who has failed to win any tournaments this year, refused to yield under the barrage of winners flowing from Musetti.
He started his comeback after breaking the Italian to lead 3-2 in the fourth set and served for the set at 5-2 up. But though Musetti reduced the deficit, Djokovic from 5-3 up reeled off the next seven games to claim the fourth and the decider 6-0 as his 22-year-old opponent wilted.
It was Djokovic’s 369th win at a Grand Slam tournament to draw level with Roger Federer's record.
The Serb can break the mark on Monday with victory over the 23rd seed Francisco Cerundolo.
