At 3:06 a.m. local time on Sunday in Paris, world No 1 Novak Djokovic defeated Lorenzo Musetti in five sets to prevail in the latest finishing match in French Open history.
Djokovic wrapped up the final set 6-0, having struggled in the middle part of the match when Musetti was playing his best tennis. Speaking afterwards, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, and defending champion at Roland Garros, told the crowd that at 2-2 in the fourth set, they had given him the energy he needed to be a “different player” and carried him to victory. The final result was 7-5, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.
The previous latest finish in tournament history was 1:26 a.m. when Rafael Nadal beat Jannik Sinner in 2020 on his way to winning the title.
The match ran so late partly due to rain delays and a packed schedule, which included moving Grigor Dimitrov’s suspended match with Zizou Bergs on to Court Philippe-Chatrier to begin the night session. Bulgarian 10th seed Dimitrov was leading by two sets to love when they restarted, but Belgian qualifier Bergs took the third set, extending the match and forcing Djokovic and Musetti, the 30th seed, to wait.
Djokovic will play Argentine Francisco Cerundolo in the next round, on Monday.
(Photo of Novak Djokovic: Mateo Villalba / Getty Images)