Top seed Novak Djokovic overcame a legitimate crisis and then a slippery fall that unsettled him in the fifth set to ensure he continues his quest for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title at the French Open.
Djokovic won the final two sets for the second straight match on Monday, beating 23rd seed Francisco Cernudolo in the fourth round of the French Open 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in five sets.
Djokovic, who will face the winner of Monday’s match between seventh seed Casper Ruud and 12th seed Taylor Fritz of the United States in the quarterfinals, slipped several times in the fourth game of the deciding set and fell awkwardly on the clay.
The Serbian superstar shouted angrily and sarcastically at the umpires: “Well done you guys, you know better than us. It’s not slippery at all, not dangerous at all! Well done to the manager and everyone. Well done to the ground staff.”
The 37-year-old Djokovic is set to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in 2023 except Wimbledon, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final, and surpass Roger Federer’s men’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles.
But he lost in the semifinals of the Australian Open earlier this year to Italy’s Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic reached his 59th Grand Slam quarterfinal, breaking the record he shared with Federer.
The 25-year-old Argentine was leading serve for 4-3 in the fourth set but Djokovic broke to tie the score and then led 5-4 in the next service game.
Cerundolo held in the tenth game and had a chance to break back and retake a 6-5 lead, but Djokovic won the next three points and broke again to win the set and force a deciding fifth game.
Djokovic similarly came from behind to win in five sets over four and a half hours against 22-year-old Lorenzo Musetti in the third round.
