French Open: Novak Djokovic roars back to edge epic against Francisco Cerundolo despite injury scare

Updated 03/06/2024 at 22:45 GMT

Novak Djokovic came through another epic French Open five-setter to book his spot in a 59th Grand Slam quarter-final. The world No. 1 trailed Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo two sets to one, and was a break down in the fourth, but came roaring back to win 6-1 5-7 3-6 7-5 6-3. He will continue his quest for a fourth French Open crown against either Taylor Fritz or Casper Ruud in the last eight.

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Novak Djokovic recovered from two sets to one down and defied a knee injury to beat Francisco Cerundolo and book his spot in the quarter-finals of the French Open.

The world No. 1 had to dig deep for the second match in succession following his marathon encounter against Lorenzo Musetti in the previous round, but as he so often does, he found a way to win and eventually prevailed 6-1 5-7 3-6 7-5 6-3 in four hours and 39 minutes.

It was the first time the pair had met and Cerundolo will be left ruing a gilt-edged chance to claim a big scalp and reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final.

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In contrast, Djokovic is into the last eight of one of a major for a 59th time and will continue his quest for a fourth French Open crown against either Taylor Fritz or Casper Ruud.

After the relatively quick turnaround following his win over Musetti, which finished at 3;07am local time, there were question marks over the fitness of Djokovic, but he quickly allayed any fears.

The pair split the opening two games before the Serbian reeled off five in a row to take the first set - but the match took a dramatic turn minutes later.

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After Cerundolo held for 2-1 in the second, Djokovic appeared to suffer a knee injury, calling for the trainer and then the doctor at the changeover in a bid to alleviate his symptoms.

Sensing an opportunity, the Argentinian outsider applied relentless pressure and it eventually told as he secured a crucial break to win the second set 7-5 and level the contest.

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As Djokovic continued to struggle physically, Cerundolo’s confidence only grew. He raced into a 3-0 lead in the third and didn’t wilt, moving within a set of a famous victory when the defending champion found the net with a forehand return.

A break in the fifth game of the fourth set further boosted Cerundolo’s cause, but Djokovic’s unrivalled survival instincts eventually kicked into gear.

As he so often does, he produced his best tennis of the match with his back against the wall, winning five of the next six games from 4-2 down to force a decider and then add another comeback victory to his resume.

Cerundolo fought all the way to the end, but his fate was sealed when Djokovic broke from 40-0 down to make it 5-3 before the 24-time Grand Slam champion served it out to reach an 18th French Open quarter-final.