Novak Djokovic, the world’s top-ranked tennis player, ominously faced the threat of his earliest exit from Roland Garros in a decade and a half. In a nail-biting duel with Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo, Djokovic’s game seemed to falter considerably after a series of avoidable mistakes forced him to trail in the fourth set. He appeared physically strained and couldn’t avoid committing errors throughout the match, as Cerúndolo confidently hit forehand winners at every given chance.
Yet, Djokovic is known for his remarkable ability to claw his way back from challenging circumstances. Despite being behind by one set twice in a row, he overcame adversity to beat his Argentine rival with scores 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. This victory ensured his place in the quarter-finals of the French Open.
Returning to the French Open courts less than 48 hours after his historical late-night win against Lorenzo Musetti, Djokovic seemed undeterred. Despite the poor scheduling choices made by the French Open committee, the Serbian player performed excellently during his initial games, showing a newfound freedom and precision in his strikes.
However, not long into the match, things took a dramatic turn. Early in the second set, Djokovic started experiencing knee discomfort. He requested medical attention twice during the changeover, expressing dissatisfaction with the court conditions and asking the ground staff for a second sweeping. At one stage he declared, “My knee’s playing up. I’m constantly slipping.” Despite maintaining his serve up until this point, he began to falter at 5-6, leading to an unusually high number of mistakes in his serve, and lost the set as a result.
Cerúndolo delivered an exceptional performance, despite his slender physique, keeping Djokovic vigorously on his toes. Known for his formidable groundstrokes, his dominant topspin forehand proved particularly lethal. With an unrelenting strategy of applying consistent pressure on Djokovic, he effectively utilised speed, drop shots, and every chance to unleash his forehand assault.
In a surprising turn of events, Djokovic surrendered two back-to-back games in the second set’s final moments. This swiftly escalated to a total of five games, with Cerúndolo securing an early lead of 3-0. Rallying relentlessly with mighty forehand shots, and with Djokovic struggling to regain his serving prowess, Cerúndolo maintained his serving edge and advanced to a 4-2 lead in the fourth set.
Yet Djokovic, demonstrating his legendary resilience backed by 13 years of professional dominance, most often finds a way to bounce back. Upon regaining his serving form and achieving a consistent depth for the first time in the contest, he began exerting pressure on the Argentinean. Battling back to 4-4, Djokovic leaned on the crowd’s support to help him recover. Despite being on the brink of break point at 5-5, Djokovic prevailed in the service game and coerced the match into a fourth set.
Despite trailing in the fourth set, Cerúndolo demonstrated a fierce determination to the bitter end. He challenged Djokovic relentlessly, creating immense pressure. However, Djokovic’s historic resilience showed yet again as he managed to hold his ground even after more than nine exerting hours on court over just two matches.
In other news, Alex de Minaur celebrated a major career milestone as he advanced into his second grand slam quarter-final, scoring his best ever result at Roland Garros. Overcoming Daniil Medvedev with a score of 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3, de Minaur also marked his first quarter-final since the US Open in 2020. For de Minaur, besting fifth seed Medvedev is his premier top-five victory at a grand slam.
Following his game, De Minaur expressed his gratitude to a supporter named Paul during a combined discussion with France TV Sport. Post his triumph in the third round, De Minaur sought the assistance of online users to locate the enthusiastic young follower, enabling him to extend an invitation to Paul after securing a significant victory for his career. – Guardian