Marathon tennis matches have been seen throughout history, but defending French Open champion Novak Djokovic's latest finish has led many to question why a match is allowed to last until 3am.
Djokovic's exact finishing time was 3:07 a.m. after five sets against Lorenzo Musetti and, as expected, he was absolutely exhausted. It was the last finish in Grand Slam history, but it's a side of the story that US Open champion Coco Gauff doesn't think any tennis player should be involved in.
“I feel like a lot of times people think you're done, but actually at 3 a.m. [you’re] “I probably won't go to bed until 5 a.m. at the earliest, maybe 6 a.m. or 7 a.m.,” Gauff said, via Yahoo Sports.
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Novak Djokovic wipes his face during his match against Lorenzo Musetti at the French Open at Roland Garros on June 1, 2024 in Paris. (Mateo Villalba/Getty Images)
“I definitely think it's unhealthy,” Gauff continued.
“It's not easy to play and it's not like we're going to fall asleep an hour after the game,” the best player in the world, Iga Swiatek, added to the conversation.
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“[Change] It does not depend on us. “We have to accept whatever comes to us.”
Now, the ATP and WTA Tours instituted a new rule earlier this year stating that no match can start after 11 p.m. However, the four Grand Slams (French Open, Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open United) do not have that rule in their tournaments. . Additionally, men play five sets at Grand Slams, while the ATP Tour ends in best-of-three sets.
Thus, the French Open saw how the decision to take the match between Grigor Dimitrov and Zizou Bergs to the main court, the Philippe Chatrier, was diverted when the Alexander Zverev and Tallon Griekspoor match needed five sets to finish.
Novak Djokovic celebrates a point against Lorenzo Musetti in the French Open men's singles third round match on June 1, 2024. (Mateo Villalba/Getty Images)
Dimitrov and Bergs were both rained out on Friday, with the former holding a one-set lead when they finally started play again. In turn, Djokovic's match, scheduled for 8:15 p.m. local time, did not take place until 10:37 p.m.
Then, with five sets left to play, the match went on too long.
“I think some things could have been handled differently,” Djokovic said after the match, before his comment saying he didn't want to get into the scheduling discussion, “but there's also a beauty in winning a match.” [so late]”.
Djokovic, 37, said his limits were certainly tested in the match. But it is difficult to recover from such a feat.
Novak Djokovic reacts during his match against Lorenzo Musetti on June 1, 2024 in Paris. (Dan Istitane/Getty Images)
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But he will have to do so before facing Francisco Cerundolo, the world's No. 23 player, in the fourth round on Monday in Paris to keep his repeat chances alive.
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