Novak Djokovic took five sets to beat Lorenzo Musetti in the latest match finish in French Open history, ending at 3:06 a.m. in Paris on Sunday morning.
Djokovic, the record 24-time Grand Slam men’s singles champion, dispatched the 30th seed Musetti of Italy 7-5, 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.
It shattered the record of latest French Open finish: Rafael Nadal beat Jannik Sinner at 1:26 a.m. in the quarterfinals in 2020. That was the first year with match play after 10 p.m. due to the debut of a roof on Court Philippe Chatrier and lights around the grounds.
Djokovic-Musetti started late, after 10:30 p.m. local time, because another match — Grigor Dimitrov versus Zizou Bergs, which wasn’t able to finish Friday due to rain — was moved to Court Philippe Chatrier due to rain again messing with the schedule on outer courts Saturday.
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“Things could have been handled a different way,” Djokovic said of the scheduling choice.
Musetti lost a five-setter to Djokovic at the French for the second time. He squandered a two-set lead in 2021.
Djokovic, who hasn’t made a tournament final in 2024, next gets 23rd seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in the round of 16 on Monday.
In that match, he will bid to break his tie with Roger Federer for the career record of 369 Grand Slam singles match wins.
Djokovic has higher hopes in Paris. He bids to win a fourth French Open title and to break his tie with Margaret Court for the most career Slam titles in singles play.
The French Open continues Sunday with live coverage at 12 p.m. ET on NBC, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
