The clock had long since passed 3 in the morning
Long after Paris had gone to sleep, Novak Djokovic completed a four-and-a-half-hour battle against Lorenzo Musetti that stretched into the early hours of Sunday morning — a match that became the latest finish in French Open history and delivered him a record-tying 369th Grand Slam victory, level with Roger Federer. The win was hard-earned and historically weighted, yet it arrived shadowed by the mathematics of ranking survival: to remain world number one, Djokovic must now reach the final, as a resurgent Jannik Sinner stands ready to claim the throne. In the theatre of late-night tennis, greatness and vulnerability shared the same court.
- Djokovic clawed back from two sets to one down against a 22-year-old Italian ranked outside the top fifty, refusing to let the night swallow his title defence.
- The match shattered the French Open's record for latest finish by nearly two hours, with the final point struck at 3:08am in a near-empty Roland Garros.
- The victory drew Djokovic level with Federer's all-time Grand Slam record of 369 match wins — a milestone reached in exhaustion rather than ceremony.
- His world number one ranking is now under direct threat: Sinner is guaranteed the top spot if he reaches Sunday's final, turning the draw into a race against arithmetic.
- Djokovic must next face Argentine seed Francisco Cerundolo, raising urgent questions about whether his body and mind can recover from an overnight marathon in time.
The clock read 3:08am in Paris when Novak Djokovic finally closed out his match against Lorenzo Musetti, completing a 7-5, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 comeback that lasted four hours and twenty-nine minutes — the latest finish in French Open history, surpassing by nearly two hours the previous record set when Nadal defeated Sinner in 2020. The defending champion had been pushed to the edge by the 22-year-old Italian, who refused to yield even as fatigue settled over both men deep into the Parisian night.
The win carried a weight beyond the scoreline. It brought Djokovic to 369 Grand Slam match victories, tying Roger Federer's all-time record. The two men now stand together at the summit of a mountain built across decades and surfaces. That Djokovic reached it in the small hours of a Sunday morning, grinding through a fifth set, felt entirely in keeping with the relentless character of his career.
Yet the victory came wrapped in complication. To retain his world number one ranking, Djokovic must reach the final. Jannik Sinner — the same player Nadal had beaten in that previous late-night Roland Garros epic — is guaranteed the top ranking if he reaches Sunday's final, which would make him the twenty-ninth player to hold the position since 1973. The tournament has become a two-front battle for Djokovic: survival on court and survival in the rankings.
Elsewhere, Alexander Zverev recovered from a 4-1 deficit in the deciding set to defeat Tallon Griekspoor in a tiebreak, extending his clay-court winning streak to nine matches. Felix Auger-Aliassime swept past Ben Shelton to set up a last-sixteen clash with Carlos Alcaraz, leading their head-to-head 3-2 despite losing their last two meetings. And Daniil Medvedev steadied himself after a third-set collapse to see off Tomas Machac, the Czech who had stunned Djokovic in Geneva just weeks earlier. The draw is thinning, and the stakes are rising.
The clock had long since passed 3 in the morning when Novak Djokovic finally put away his last serve against Lorenzo Musetti. The defending champion and world number one had just survived the longest match in French Open history—four hours and twenty-nine minutes of tennis that didn't end until 3:08 a.m. local time on a Sunday morning in Paris. The scoreline read 7-5, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, a comeback that required Djokovic to claw his way back from the brink against the 22-year-old Italian.
What made the victory particularly significant was not just the hour at which it concluded, but what it represented in the arc of Djokovic's career. With this win, he reached 369 Grand Slam match victories, tying Roger Federer's all-time record. The two men now stand alone at the summit of a mountain that has taken decades to climb. Federer's 369 wins represent a career's worth of consistency across multiple surfaces and eras. Djokovic had matched it in the dead of night at Roland Garros, a tournament where he has now reached the last sixteen for the eighteenth time.
The match itself shattered the previous French Open record for latest finish. That mark had been set in 2020 when Rafael Nadal defeated Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals, finishing at 1:25 a.m. Djokovic's match with Musetti obliterated that benchmark by nearly two hours. The Italian, ranked outside the top fifty, had pushed the world number one to the absolute limit, forcing him into a fifth set and refusing to fold even as fatigue mounted on both sides.
But the victory came with complications for Djokovic's immediate future. As the defending champion and current world number one, his ranking is now in jeopardy. To maintain his position at the top, he must reach the final of this tournament. Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner—the same player Nadal had beaten in that previous late-night epic—is guaranteed to become the world number one if he reaches Sunday's final. Sinner would become the twenty-ninth player since 1973 to hold the top ranking. The mathematics of professional tennis had suddenly become urgent.
Djokovic's next opponent is Francisco Cerundolo, the Argentine twenty-third seed who has now reached the fourth round for the second consecutive year. It will be a test of whether the defending champion can recover from the physical and mental toll of his overnight marathon.
Elsewhere on the grounds, Alexander Zverev survived his own extended battle, defeating Tallon Griekspoor 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 in a match that lasted over four hours. Zverev, the world number four and a semifinalist for three consecutive years, had dropped the opening set to the Dutch twenty-sixth seed before mounting a comeback. Griekspoor forced a deciding set and even held a 4-1 advantage, but Zverev roared back to win four straight games and then prevailed in the tiebreak with an ace. The German has now won nine consecutive matches on clay in ATP events, his best run since 2018. He will face Alex de Minaur in the next round.
Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the twenty-first seed, completed his rain-delayed third-round match against American Ben Shelton, winning 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. Auger-Aliassime had been leading 5-4 in the first set when rain stopped play on Friday. He picked up where he left off and will now face Spanish third seed Carlos Alcaraz in the last sixteen. The Canadian leads their head-to-head record 3-2, though Alcaraz has won their last two meetings.
Daniil Medvedev, the fifth seed, advanced past Czech Tomas Machac 7-6, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 in a match played under the roof on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. Machac, who had stunned Djokovic at the Geneva Open just weeks earlier, pushed Medvedev hard for over three hours. The Russian took the first two sets before losing his way in the third, capitulating as Machac won six straight games. But Medvedev refocused in the fourth set and held firm in the crucial moments to advance. He will face de Minaur next.
Citas Notables
It was a very tough match, I'm very happy I stay constant even in the difficult moments. It was tight. The match could have turned one way or the other, but I'm happy I'm the one who won.— Daniil Medvedev, after defeating Tomas Machac
Incredible match, incredible player, unbelievably dangerous. I don't like to play against him. Credit to him.— Alexander Zverev, after defeating Tallon Griekspoor
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
What does it mean that Djokovic tied Federer's record at exactly this moment—in the middle of the night, in a match he nearly lost?
It's the kind of symmetry that tennis produces sometimes. The record itself is just a number, 369 wins. But the way he got there—fighting back from two sets down against a player half his age, finishing as the sun was coming up—it says something about what it takes to accumulate that many victories. Federer did it over a different era, on different surfaces. Djokovic is doing it now, still competing at the highest level.
But his ranking is threatened now. Sinner could take number one if he reaches the final. Does that change what this night means?
It complicates it. The record is permanent—he'll always have tied Federer at 3 a.m. on a Sunday in Paris. But the ranking is fluid. Djokovic has to reach the final just to stay number one. That's the pressure he's carrying into his next match. The record is a consolation and a milestone, but it's not what he came here to win.
Why did this match go so late? Was Musetti just that good, or was Djokovic struggling?
Both. Musetti is a talented player—he's young, he's got nothing to lose, and he played fearlessly. But Djokovic also had to dig deeper than he probably wanted to. The first two sets were competitive. Then Musetti took the third set decisively. Djokovic had to find something in the fourth and fifth sets when his body was telling him it was time to sleep.
The previous record was set by Nadal beating Sinner in 2020. Now Sinner is the one threatening Djokovic's ranking. Is there a story there?
There's a generational shift happening. Sinner beat Djokovic in Geneva. He's progressing through this tournament. If he reaches the final, he becomes number one. The old guard—Djokovic, Nadal—is still competing at the highest level, but the younger players are closing in. Sinner represents that future.
What about the other matches? Zverev's comeback, Auger-Aliassime setting up Alcaraz?
They're all part of the same story—players pushing themselves to the limit, rain delays, matches that go longer than anyone expected. Zverev was down 4-1 in the fifth set and came back. Auger-Aliassime had to wait two days to finish his match. These are the conditions of this tournament right now. It's testing everyone.