Novak Djokovic limps through longest French Open match of career

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Novak Djokovic hobbled his way into the quarter-finals of the French Open by overcoming a knee injury during the longest Roland Garros match he has ever played.

The current title holder emerged victorious after a grueling match against Francisco Cerundolo, lasting four hours and thirty-nine minutes. The contest went to five sets, with the defending champion finally prevailing 6-1 5-7 3-6 7-5 6-3.

Djokovic, who holds the top spot in the world rankings, attributed his injury at the beginning of the second set to the fact that the court was slippery.

He started making painful facial expressions and massaging his knee on the right side right after winning the initial set and needed some time off for medical reasons when he was losing 2-1 in the second set.

When speaking to the physio, Djokovic revealed that his knee was causing him problems. He expressed that he was having difficulties with slipping and sliding frequently.

After playing four games, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the condition of the court to a tournament supervisor and stated that it was unacceptable from a player's perspective.

After being informed by the official that the ground staff believed the surface was acceptable, Djokovic reacted sharply, asking, "Do they possess greater knowledge than I do regarding the court's quality?"

After the 23rd seeded Cerundolo tied the match, the individual who is 37 years of age resorted to taking their medication once more. They were able to break the opponent's serve after 13 tries and ultimately secure the win.

During the third set, Cerundolo managed to earn his fourteenth point while Djokovic struggled with his movements between each point.

The tennis player who has won 24 grand slams seemed very tired after his five-set match against Lorenzo Musetti that ended early Sunday morning. He complained and talked to his team in the area where players sit, occasionally saying that he was ready to quit.

He managed to make a comeback in the fourth set and then pushed the game to a deciding set. When Cerundolo made a mistake and hit the ball into the net, he let out a loud and triumphant shout.

Out of nowhere, Djokovic's movements became fluid once more and he managed to secure a break at the beginning of the last set, but unfortunately, his opponent countered it right away.

He became even more upset when he slipped on the baseline and muttered sarcastically while returning to his towel, "Good job guys, the court is definitely not slippery."

Despite being injured, Djokovic showed no signs of discomfort as he made a spectacular dive towards the net, almost doing the splits before triumphantly landing on his belly to secure yet another impressive victory.

Aryna Sabalenka kept up her impressive performance at the French Open by dominating Emma Navarro and qualifying for the quarter-finals. She used her strength to defeat her opponent.

The Belarusian player, who has strong hits, won the game 6-2, 6-3. She has only lost 18 games throughout all of her four matches.

Alex De Minaur received enthusiastic support from his enthusiastic young admirer as he surprised Daniil Medvedev and made it to his initial French Open quarter-final.

The person from Australia sought help from social media to locate the young lad who had shown enthusiasm and cheered for every point they earned during their match against Jan-Lennard Struff, which was interrupted by rain during the third round.

The young man was provided with a premium spot at Court Suzanne Lenglen to observe his idol enter the quarter-finals following a triumph of 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3.

Tune in to watch all the exciting action of Roland-Garros as it unfolds, exclusively on Eurosport and discovery+. Enjoy live coverage of every moment of this thrilling tournament.