French Open Day 9 Recap 2024 – Perfect Tennis

The 2024 French Open quarter-final lineup is complete after Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, and Alex de Minaur progressed from Monday’s fourth-round action.

First to book his spot was de Minaur, who came through Daniil Medvedev in four sets to make his first French Open quarter-final.

Novak Djokovic then played another five-set classic, somehow finding a way to see off Francisco Cerundolo despite dealing with a knee tweak from the second set onwards.

Casper Ruud wasn’t far behind, beating Taylor Fritz in four sets in the last match of the day on Lenglen.

In the night session on Chatrier, Sascha Zverev came from a set down to defeat Holger Rune in five sets in a match that finished after midnight.

You can see the results and highlights below.

Day Nine French Open 2024 Round of 16 Results

De Minaur Too Good For Medvedev

Alex de Minaur reached his first Roland Garros quarter-final by defeating Daniil Medvedev in Monday’s round 4th round tie.

The 11th-seeded Australian overcame fifth-seed Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. The victory makes him the first Australian man to reach the Roland Garros quarter-finals since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004.

Despite Medvedev’s strong start, breaking De Minaur’s serve in the third game and taking the first set, the match shifted mid-way through the second set.

De Minaur broke for 3-2, and after Medvedev took a medical timeout for blisters, the Australian dominated the second and third sets.

Medvedev briefly fought back in the fourth, levelling at 1-1, but De Minaur surged ahead, winning four consecutive games to clinch the match.

Based on Medvedev’s three wins prior, I had a feeling the Aussie would cause him problems because his game and, notably, serve are not up to the levels of previous years, and he only won 62% behind his first serve.

While he played well against Machac, I wasn’t convinced he had two good matches on the trot, and that’s how it turned out.

I’m pretty happy, not gonna lie. It was a great match today. Fought till the end. Managed to beat a quality opponent in a Grand Slam fourth round, which is kind of the goals that I had been setting for myself to go deeper at these events. I’m very proud of myself.

It’s pretty extraordinary. I always thought that to me to play well on the clay I needed hot, lively conditions. But this whole tournament has proven otherwise, right? It’s been a complete shock to the system, to everything I ever believed in.

Now the toughest thing is dealing with my team, because they give me a lot of slack for me complaining all these years of my level on the clay. But now it looks like it’s one of my best slam results. Looks like I’ve converted myself into a clay specialist.

De Minaur on making the last eight in Paris.

Djokovic Makes Another Epic Comeback

Novak Djokovic produced another epic comeback on Monday, fending off Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 after trailing by two sets to one and a break.

The 37-year-old, who had battled past Lorenzo Musetti in a five-set marathon finishing at 3:07 a.m. on Sunday, delivered another heroic effort to secure back-to-back five-set victories for the first time since the 2012 French Open, where he reached the final.

Djokovic started strong against Cerundolo but was hobbled by a knee problem in the second set.

From there, his movement suffered, allowing Cerundolo to take charge. The Serb found himself down 2-4 in the fourth and on the brink of a French Open exit before the quarterfinals for the first time since 2009.

However, in the last match, Djokovic showed that he still had plenty of fight left in him. He broke back to level at 4-4 before capturing the set and forcing a decider.

Djokovic found his peak form in the fifth set, overcoming a fall and regaining control to clinch the win after four hours and 39 minutes.

This victory marked his 370th major win, surpassing Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam match wins in men’s singles history.

Will he play the quarter final? He said in press that he’s not quite sure as he’s been dealing with a minor knee issue for the last couple of weeks which flared up when he slipped on the clay.

I started feeling the pain [in set two] and asked for the physio treatment and the medical timeout and tried to take care of it. It definitely disrupted me in play. For two sets, two sets and a half, I didn’t want to stay in the rally too long. Every time he would make sudden drop shots or change directions, I would not feel comfortable doing the running. At one point I didn’t know, honestly, whether I should continue with what was happening. Djokovic on his leg issue.

Zverev Rallies Past Rune

Like Djokovic, Alexander Zverev fought through a five-set marathon for the second match in a row to move into the last eight in Paris.

Playing the night session on Chatrier, the German overcame Holger Rune 4-6, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-2 in 4 hours and 11 minutes.

Despite a shaky first set with 13 unforced errors, Zverev found his rhythm in the second set, breaking Rune’s serve early and evening the match.

The Dane then regrouped, winning the third despite relinquishing an early break. In a tense fourth set, Zverev twice led by a break but needed to fend off a 0-15 challenge to force a tie-break, where he dominated by winning six consecutive points. He maintained control in the final set, committing only one unforced error and clinching a break on his fifth opportunity.

Earlier in his career, I always put Zverev as someone with a sub-par serve for a man of his height, but it’s improved massively in recent times, and it was the difference-maker last night as he hit 16 aces, landed 71% of his first serves, and won 76% of his first serve points. 

What a match. Holger is an unbelievable player, a young talent, you’re going to see him for 15, maybe 20 years on this beautiful court, so credit to him. He’s been struggling a little this year, but he’s been playing unbelievable tennis this week. I’m lucky. I’m lucky to be through. I’m proud. I’m proud to be in the quarter-finals. I’ve played a total of eight-and-a-half hours in the last three days, so I need to recover, I need to do everything possible to be ready for the quarter-final match, because obviously, the tournament doesn’t stop here, and I want to continue. Zverev on his win.

Ruud Fends Off Fritz

Casper Ruud is hoping to make his third consecutive French Open final this year, and he’s now just two matches away after triumphing 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 over Taylor Fritz.

Ruud overcame a 1-5 deficit and saved a set point in the first-set tie-break. He then battled back from an early break down in the crucial third set to get the match fully in his favour.

While Fritz had his moments with some big forehand winners, Ruud was the more solid of the two and his heavy topspin forehand proved the more effective shot over the duration. The American was also seemingly dealing with a hip problem, which hindered his movement.

French Open Day 9 Quarter Final Matches