Novak Djokovic makes ‘real trouble’ admission as he reacts to historic latest French Open finish

Novak Djokovic admitted he was in “real trouble” against Lorenzo Musetti after he defeated the Italian in five sets at the 2024 French Open.

The Serbian refused to be drawn on the Roland Garros scheduling after what was the latest finish in the history of the event, but conceded that “some things could have been handled a different way.”

Djokovic dug deep to defeat Musetti 7-5, 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in a pulsating third round battle that finished at 3:07am on Sunday in Paris.

The match on Court Philippe-Chatrier began at around 22:40 on Saturday night — over two hours after the scheduled start time — due to the contest between Grigor Dimitrov and Zizou Bergs being moved to the same court.

The third round clash between Dimitrov and Bergs had started on Friday, but just over a set had been played due to rain delays.

Djokovic, the defending champion, will face No 23 seed Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round at Roland Garros on Monday. The tennis great is seeking a fourth French Open crown and 25th Grand Slam title.

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Following his victory over Musetti, Djokovic praised the 22-year-old Italian for his display and admitted he was in real danger after the third set.

“Well, I was in real trouble. Credit to Lorenzo for making me uncomfortable on court and playing some really amazing tennis, really high level,” said the 37-year-old.

“At one point, I didn’t know what to do. From both ends, he was getting a lot of balls back, winners from both corners, good serves, running every ball down the court. It didn’t feel great playing him in that third set and the beginning of the fourth.”

The world No 1 was also asked how he felt about the Dimitrov-Bergs match being put on Court Philippe-Chatrier before his match.

“I knew you guys were going to ask me that. Look, I don’t want to get into it. I have my opinions, but I think there are great things to talk about instead,” Djokovic declared.

“Both Lorenzo’s and my performances stood out, I don’t want to be talking about scheduling. I think some things could have been handled a different way.

“But there’s beauty as well, I guess, winning a match at 3:30am… If it’s the last one of the tournament. But it’s not, so I’m going to have to switch on all of my young genes and try to recover as soon as possible.”

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