Top seed Novak Djokovic won second five-set thriller in Paris. The defending champion edged past 23rd seed Francisco Cerundolo recording a 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory to advance into the Roland Garros quarter-finals on Monday.
The classic between the Serbian and Argentine tennis players lasted four hours and 39 minutes.
Nole once again showed incredible resistance to earn a dramatic win.
The world no.1 looked fresh during the opening stages of the match, but he tweaked his knee at the start of the second set and the issue impaired his movement in the second and third sets. However, he dug deep and refused to surrender, thrilling the crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Djokovic found his best level in the fifth set in which we saw spactacular points.
“Three or four times I was points away from losing this match,” said Novak. “He deserves applause, that’s for sure. I’m not sure how I won this match.”
Match statistics: aces (6-3), double faults (2-2), winners (52-68), unforced errors (46-44), total points won (171-158).
This 370th major win moved Djokovic to first place for the most victories at Grand Slam level.
In his 15th consecutive French Open quarters, Novak will play Casper Ruud (NOR, 7).
Photo: Profimedia
