Novak Djokovic opened up after winning yet another 5-setter in the French Open 2024. On Monday, June 3, the veteran defeated Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 at Philippe-Chatrier. The 37-year-old had to go through lots of ups and downs in the match before having the last laugh after 4 hours and 29 minutes.
Prior to that, Djokovic took over 4 hours to get the better of Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti. In both his matches against Musetti and Cerundolo, the defending champion seemed in discomfort before upping his game to come up trumps. Djokovic admitted that he could easily have lost both times, but also credited the crowd for cheering him up.
“I had the same question from Alex Corretja after the last match. I have to say thank you to the fans, like in the previous match. Against Musetti, it was 2-2 in the fourth set and my energy level changed completely. You gave me a lot of energy. Today the same thing happened. You gave me a lot of support. Not much more I can say,” Djokovic said in the on-court interview.
‘Cerundolo deserves to be applauded’
Djokovic also lauded Cerundolo for putting in the hard yards and putting him under immense pressure following the opening set.
“Perhaps I was 3 or 4 points from losing this match today. I have to congratulate Francisco because he played with excellent quality. He deserves to be applauded. The only explanation I have is thanks to you. So thank you again for all your support,” Djokovic added.
Djokovic, in the meantime, went past Roger Federer to record the most wins (370) in Grand Slams. He also broke Federer’s record of most Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances (59).
Djokovic will next be up against the winner of the match between Casper Ruud and Taylor Fritz.
