Last night, the tennis world saw a match that rewrote the history of Roland Garros. The thrilling encounter between Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti, which went on till 3.06 in the morning, not only displayed the players’ unrelenting patience but also raised concerns regarding the schedule of the tournament. Novak Djokovic, himself addressed it, stating, “When you’re playing a 20+ rally at 2 am… Who plays at 2 am?” Apart from him, various tennis experts like his ex-coach, Boris Becker, and Rennae Stubbs, Serena Williams’ ex-coach, have also joined in to voice their opinions on the subject.

A scheduling domino effect threw Novak Djokovic’s match against Lorenzo Musetti into disarray at the 2022 French Open. Originally slated for the sole night session at 8:15 PM, their duel became a late-night affair. The culprit? A lengthy match on Court Philippe-Chatrier between Grigor Dimitrov and Zizou Bergs. Organizers prioritized finishing that match before Dimitrov’s next scheduled appearance on Sunday. This decision caused a ripple effect, pushing Djokovic’s match back to 8:30 PM. But wait, there’s more!

Alexander Zverev’s marathon five-set battle with Tallon Griekspoor further delayed the start. By the time Dimitrov and Bergs finished, it was already 8:00 PM, leaving Djokovic and Musetti with a two-hour wait. Finally, at 10:30 PM, they stepped onto the court, embarking on an epic five-set match that stretched for an astounding four hours and 29 minutes. Naturally, it garnered a lot of attention from the tennis world.

Posting a picture of a disappointed Novak Djokovic during the fourth set of the match, Rennae Stubbs wrote on her Instagram story “Your face when it’s 2.27 am and u can’t put an overhead away”. Further criticizing the late-night schedule of Roland Garros, she wrote, “Also, night matches in Paris are dumb.” Apart from Stubbs, Becker, also joined in the chorus after he read Mark Petchey’s (a former tennis player) statement on X, “Madness…..they should just call a Monday Final early so this doesn’t happen”:

Despite the late start, Djokovic remained focused on the win, politely declining to comment on the scheduling issues after his victory. “I don’t want to get into it,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion said shortly after walking off court. “I have my opinions but I think there are great things to talk about….I don’t want to be talking about [the] schedule.”

Surprisingly, the midnight match of yesterday broke the record for late-night finishes at Roland Garros.  The last match that came close to this record was when Rafael Nadal finished his quarterfinal match (1.26 a.m.) at Roland Garros in 2020. However, defying all odds, Novak Djokovic prevailed. And according to him, the credit goes to the fans who fueled his energy.

Novak Djokovic explained how, “at one point, I didn’t know what to do” while playing against Musetti

The three time French Open champion is currently vying for his 25th grand slam. Although he swept past Musetti and has already reached the fourth round, where he will battle against Francisco Cerundolo, according to him, during the match he “was in real trouble.”

He further described, “At one point, I didn’t know what to do. From both ends, he was getting a lot of balls back, winners from both corners, good servers, running every ball down the court. It didn’t feel great playing him in that third set and the beginning of the fourth.” However, the turning point soon came.

Djokovic explained, “I really mean what I said on the court that the crowd definitely got me going. I really needed that push, I needed that energy at two-all in the fourth. They started chanting my name, and I just felt a great new wave of willpower and energy. I think I was a different player from that moment onwards. I think from that moment onwards, I only lost one game.”

Novak Djokovic, who still remains title less this season, hasn’t been in his form lately. With the French Open being his sixth station in the season, hopefully, the world No. 1 will overcome every hurdle on his way ahead, including the tight schedules.