Francisco Cerúndolo had Novak Djokovic at his mercy, who resurfaced and eliminated him from Roland Garros

The Serbian, who on Saturday already suffered more than expected against the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (30th), needed 5 sets, 4h 39m to defeat Francisco Cerúndolo. “I was maybe three or four points away from losing this match. I don’t know how I found a way to win it. The only explanation I have is you,” the Serbian dedicated Philippe Chatrier to the center court crowd.

The 25-year-old from Buenos Aires thus repeated the round of 16 in 2023, without having yet managed to advance beyond this round, the complete opposite of Djokovic, who has been reaching at least the quarterfinals since 2010 without interruption.

Novak Djokovic emerged from pain

The Serbian started the match well, closing the first set in 42 minutes after breaking the Argentine’s serve in the fourth and sixth games. During the second set, when he served to equalize 2-2, the world tennis No. 1 put his hand on his knee with gestures of pain.

‘Nole’ went to his bank and requested medical assistance. After several minutes of observation, she received a massage, while his face reflected grimaces of suffering. Even so, the Serbian continued in the match and remained firm until the twelfth game, in which Cerúndolo took advantage of the second break ball to tie the match. The Argentine did not give up and broke ‘Nole’s’ first serve in the third set, managed the advantage and, relying on his serve, took the lead in the match.

In a very divided fourth set, the Argentine had a break point at 5-5 that could have put him on the verge of victory, but the Serbian saved it and tied the match again, starting his show. lifting the audience with his arms.

Are you withdrawing from Roland Garros?

In a fifth set with no signs of pain, Djokovic brought out his most dominant version, controlling the pace of the match with an early break, to which the Argentine responded immediately afterwards, in a final push of rage.

In his display of intensity, the Serbian went to the ground twice, complaining forcefully about the state of the field the first time, and joking about the brick dust the second time, with his arms outstretched imitating an airplane.

With a new break in the eighth game and without major turbulence, the man of the 24 Grand Slams is already in the quarterfinals, after having solved two forced landings. Anyway, in the post-match press conference, Novak Djokovic explained that he had injured his right knee due to the lack of clay.

“In the third game of the second set, I slipped and that affected my knee. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, or if I will be able to get on the court to play,” declared the Serbian, who explained that he was able to finish the match thanks to anti-inflammatories.