T20 WC: Djokovic’s Gritty Comeback Keeps World No. 1 Hopes Alive

Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, showcased an extraordinary performance at the French Open 2024—Roland Garros—keeping his aspirations of retaining the World No. 1 spot alive.

Despite trailing by two sets and a break against Francisco Cerundolo, the Serbian fought back to secure a 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory.

The 37-year-old Djokovic had already shown his resilience by defeating Lorenzo Musetti in a grueling five-set match in the third round, which concluded at 3:07 a.m. on Sunday. He continued his remarkable run with another epic effort against Cerundolo, marking the first time he has won back-to-back five-set matches since reaching the final at Roland Garros in 2012.

“Again a big, big, big thank you because once again like the last match, the win is your win,” Djokovic told the crowd in his on-court interview, as quoted by ATP.

Despite the late finish against Musetti, Djokovic started strong in the first set against Cerundolo in their maiden ATP Head2Head match. However, he strained his knee at the start of the second set, which hampered his movement in the second and third sets. The Serbian appeared to be on his way out when he trailed 2-4 in the fourth set.

“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 did disrupt me definitely 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 be feeling comfortable to do the running,” he added.

“At one point I didn’t know, to be honest, whether I should continue or not with what’s happening,” said the 24-time major champion.

Djokovic, however, refused to give up. He broke back to level the score at 4-4 before locking in at the end of the set to force a decider in front of a loud crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

In typical Djokovic fashion, the top seed found his best form in the fifth set. He won in four hours and 39 minutes after squandering a break advantage and falling behind 2-1. Djokovic’s 370th major triumph propels him into the top spot in Grand Slam victories.

Djokovic has now reached the quarterfinals in Paris 15 times in a row and 18 times overall. The seven-time Nitto ATP Finals champion, who has won the clay-court major three times, will next face either Casper Ruud or Taylor Fritz.

Aiming for a record-extending 25th major title, Djokovic must reach the final to maintain his lead in the PIF ATP Rankings at the end of the event. If second seed Jannik Sinner advances to the title match, he will become the 29th player in history (since 1973) to reach No. 1.