Novak Djokovic battles back to set Grand Slam winning record

Novak Djokovic was bothered by his right knee, then found himself down a set and a break, before doing what he does so well, coming back to beat No 23 Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the French Open’s fourth round yesterday for his record 370th win in a Grand Slam match.

Djokovic, the defending champion at Roland Garros, broke a tie with Roger Federer for the most match wins at major tournaments — and also for the most Slam quarter-finals for a man by reaching the 59th of his career.

And the No 1-ranked Djokovic did it in ways he has so often over his years of dominance and 24 major trophies, both turning around a contest after trailing — go ahead and ask Federer about holding match points against the guy — and emerging when the tension is greatest. This victory across more than 4 1/2 hours means that Djokovic is now 40-11 in fifth sets over his career; compare that to Cerundolo’s 1-3 mark, and the outcome should surprise no one.

For Djokovic, this was the second consecutive match that lasted more than 4 hours, that he he fell behind 2-1 in sets and that he won in five. In the third round, he made his way past No. 30 Lorenzo Musetti, a 22-year-old from Italy, finishing Sunday after 3am, the latest finish in French Open history.

This time, against Cerundolo, a 25-year-old from Argentina who was trying to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, the 37-year-old Djokovic again used all of his skills, experience and ability to adjust on the fly. He came through, in part, by playing more aggressively and putting extra speed on his groundstrokes, while dealing with whatever was going on with his knee.

Djokovic trailed 4-2 in the fourth set but surged from there.

Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka extended her dominant run at the French Open by dispatching Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.

And watch out, because the sun is back at Porte d’Auteuil in the southwest of Paris.

“When the sun is out, I play with a lot more happiness,” said Sabalenka, who has yet to drop a set at Roland Garros.

The second-seeded Sabalenka is one win away from her seventh straight Grand Slam semi-final. She will face the unseeded Mirra Andreeva, who reached the quarter-finals of a major for the first time after beating Varvara Gracheva 7-5, 6-2.

Other results included No. 12 Jasmine Paolini defeating Elina Avanesyan 4-6, 6-0, 6-1, and No. 4 Elena Rybakina eclipsing Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3. Paolini and Rybakina will meet in the quarters.

The 11th-seeded De Minaur rallied past No 5 Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 to become the first Australian to reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros since Lleyton Hewitt 20 years ago.

Next up for De Minaur is No. 4 Alexander Zverev or No. 13 Holger Rune, who were playing their fourth-round match later Monday.