At Roland Garros, Novak Djokovic scolds the children still present at 3 a.m. for the end of his match

TENNIS – A real dream night at Porte d’Auteuil. Novak Djokovic may have been down two sets to one against the Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the third round of Roland Garros, but the world number one did not give up during the latest match in the history of the Parisian Grand Slam tournament.

It was in fact more than three o’clock in the morning this Sunday, June 2, when the Serbian offered himself his ticket for the round of 16, signing in the process with his opponent of the evening one of the most beautiful matches of the 2024 edition A match won at the end of the night and suspense 7-5, 6-7 (6/8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 by Novak Djokovic, who clearly took the measure of his feat after the match. end of the meeting.

“This is perhaps the best match I have played here. It’s impossible to sleep now with all this adrenaline. If you have a party, I’ll come! », he launched to the Parisian public, in the language of Molière. It should in fact be noted that the match between the world number 1 player and number 30 started relatively late, after 10:30 p.m.

But what especially stood out to the holder of 24 Grand Slam titles were the children still present in large numbers in the stands of the Philippe-Chatrier court at such a late hour. Which inspired a spontaneous reaction from the Serbian champion. “ It’s amazing that you stayed. What time is it ? Three o’clock in the morning! Lots of children… You must be sleeping my friend, what are you doing here? »he said to a child, before making the whole stadium burst into laughter.

“ You’re too young, you’re too young too », added the current title holder, speaking directly to several children he had spotted around him in the stands. He also took the time after the match to go and greet them in person for having lasted until the end of the night.

Four and a half hours of show

Before wanting to party and laugh with the spectators, Novak Djokovic will have gone through everything during this meeting against an opponent 15 years younger than him. Especially since this match went directly into the history of the French Open for being so late. The last match at comparable times was a quarter-final between Rafael Nadal and Jannik Sinner in 2020. Their opposition, however, ended at 1:26, compared to 3:06 for Djokovic-Musetti.

However, the Serb did not seem upset by this very particular schedule. When questioned on the subject, he simply said that “ some things could have been handled differently”without trying to complain about it.

It must be said that his Italian opponent had given him enough trouble during the match. Like the second set (almost 1 hour 30 minutes) during which Musetti, trailing 4-1, managed to break the break to come back level, before taking the set in the tie-break after dismissing a ball from two sets to zero in favor of Djokovic.

Of a very high level, this match of the third round already had the air of a second week of competition, as demonstrated by the exchange below, with a masterful point attempted and succeeded by the Tuscan while he lost five games to two in the fourth set. A gesture which also left Djokovic speechless.

If the outcome of the match confirms that the Serb’s mental strength will still have been one of his best assets, the question of his physical form should logically arise in the next round after this marathon match. In the round of 16, he will face Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo to try to keep his crown for another year. With another victory in the next round, “ Djoko » would also become the greatest winner of Grand Slam matches, after having equaled on Sunday morning a certain Roger Federer and his 369 victories.

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