In the fourth round on Monday, an injured Novak Djokovic made history by defeating Argentinean Francisco Cerundolo in a stirring comeback match, securing a 15th consecutive French Open quarterfinal. Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev became the highest seed to lose at Roland Garros thus far.
Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina both cruised into the final eight in the women’s draw.
A hobbling Djokovic appeared to be headed for an unexpected loss after down 2-1 in the first set and 4-2 in the fourth, but he rallied to win 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, and 6-3 in four hours and forty-nine minutes, thrilling the Court Philippe Chatrier audience.
The defending champion admitted, “I was maybe three or four points away from losing this match.” “I don’t know how I prevailed in this fight.”
By a close margin, Djokovic avoided the tournament’s earliest elimination since 2009, setting up a rematch of the championship match against Casper Ruud, who defeated Taylor Fritz in four sets.
He acknowledged that he was not yet certain that he would be well enough to play on Wednesday.
“I’m not sure if I’ll be able to go out on the court and play tomorrow or the day after that. I really hope so. He stated, “Let’s see what happens,” then placed the blame on the exceptionally slick courts for his right knee injury.
“Maybe this injury may have been avoided? Perhaps,” continued Djokovic, who claimed to have requested more regular court sweepings.
After overcoming Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in a brutal five-set match that ended at 3:07 am on Sunday, Djokovic advanced to the round of 16.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion controlled the opening set and seemed unaffected, but he need a medical time-out early in the second set after pulling up with what looked to be a knee injury.
The 37-year-old played on but kept moving cautiously between points as he attempted to win a Grand Slam match for the record 370th time to end a tie with Roger Federer.
Cerundolo won the second set by securing a breakpoint after missing the previous twelve.
Against an increasingly irate top seed, the 23rd seed led two sets to one before drawing closer to a historic victory with a 4-2 victory in the fourth.
However, Djokovic made a huge comeback to break and even the score at 4–4.
When a stretched Cerundolo could find only the net on his fourth set point in a thrilling 12th game, he forced a decider.
When the Serbian star gained a 2-0 lead in the fifth, it seemed like there was only going to be one result, but his opponent came back to level.
Following a rough tumble, Djokovic was left drenched in clay and sarcastically remarked, “Well done supervisors, ground staff, everyone, the court is not slippery at all.”
He was unfazed, though, as he scorched a forehand that nicked the back of the baseline to seize the crucial break.
On his first match point, a Cerundolo backhand that had been initially declared in was called out by the chair umpire, setting him a stunning victory and another quarterfinal.
De Minaur beats Medvedev
The fifth germination Alex de Minaur of Australia defeated Medvedev in four sets, despite a strong start. The final scores were 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, and 6-3.
In his second Slam quarterfinal and first since the 2020 US Open, De Minaur will take on Alexander Zverev.
Although Medvedev has fallen in the first round of the French Open in five of his eight appearances, his best finish is still a quarterfinal run in 2021.
The six-time Grand Slam finalist and former US Open winner Medvedev said, “Alex played better.”
Before this year, De Minaur had only won three of ten matches and had never advanced past the second round of the competition.
Zverev prevailed in his second straight five-setter, overcoming a deficit to defeat Holger Rune 4-6, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 in a night session that concluded in the wee hours of the morning once more.
Just two days after Djokovic and Musetti set the record, it was the second-latest finish in the tournament’s history, occurring at 1:40 in the morning.
The fourth-ranked player in the world by Germany is competing in the midst of a trial in Berlin about accusations of violence against an ex-girlfriend.
Stroll for Sabalenka
World No. 2 Sabalenka, who advanced to the semifinals in 2023 and has reached at least the final four of six Grand Slams in her career, proved to be too powerful for American Emma Navarro, the 22nd seed in the women’s competition.
The Belarusian stormed into the quarterfinals, winning 6-2, 6-3 and blasting 36 winners.
In the round of eight, Sabalenka—who fell short against Iga Swiatek in the Madrid and Rome Open finals this clay-court season—will take on 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva.
Andreeva defeated French player Varvara Gracheva, a native of Russia, 7-5, 6-2, to become the youngest French Open women’s quarterfinalist since 2005.
The fourth seed and a former Wimbledon champion, Rybakina, defeated Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3, and will now play Italian Jasmine Paolini.