‘Could have been handled differently’

World No. 1 Djokovic criticises tackling of 3:07am-finish scenario after thrilling 5-set win over Lorenzo Musetti which lasted close to four and a half hours in Paris

Novak Djokovic believes “things could have been handled differently” by Roland Garros officials after winning his French Open third round match at a record 3:07am (0107 GMT) Sunday morning.

Defending champion and 24-time Grand Slam title winner Djokovic came from two sets to one down to defeat Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-7 (6/8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in a clash which only started just before 10:45pm (2045 GMT) on Saturday. It was easily the latest finish to a French Open tie and came after organisers squeezed in extra matches onto the two main show courts.

“I don’t want to get into this debate,” said Djokovic initially before adding: “I think certain things could have been handled differently. “There is a certain beauty in winning the match at three in the morning if it was the last of the tournament, but this isn’t the case.” 

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Djokovic’s four-hour 29-minute victory allowed the 37-year-old World No. 1 to equal Roger Federer’s record of 369 Grand Slam match wins. “Physically, I really went to my limits to win this match. When you play rallies of more than 20 shots, at two in the morning... Who plays at two in the morning?” he added. “We play few matches in our life at this time. The conditions were very heavy, it was very cold. You didn’t have many free points behind your serve.” 

Zverev survives scare

Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev rallied from a double break down in the fifth set to beat Dutch 26th seed Tallon Griekspoor 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (10/3) to reach the last 16 on Saturday. Zverev trailed 4-1 in the decider, but produced an astonishing comeback to make the fourth round at Roland Garros for the seventh consecutive year.

Tsitsipas, Alcaraz cruise

Stefanos Tsitsipas came back from a set down to defeat Matteo Arnaldi and reach the quarter-finals for the fourth time on Sunday. Greek ninth seed Tsitsipas won 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-2, while Carlos Alcaraz strolled past 21st seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 to make the quarter-finals for the third year in succession.

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