John McEnroe and Tim Henman joined the tennis world in being completely amazed after Novak Djokovic’s thrilling comeback against Francisco Cerundolo at the French Open.
Djokovic looked down and out after falling two sets to one down and a break behind.
At one stage Cerundolo was just two games away from victory in the fourth set, but Djokovic broke back and suddenly started engaging with the crowd again.
The Serbian had looked down and out, after struggling with a knee injury from midway through the second set.
But towards the end of the match he looked like vintage Djokovic again. And McEnroe was left stunned by what he saw from the world number one.
“I have been watching tennis for 50 years and I can’t recall seeing anything like it,” he said straight after the match had finished on EuroSport
“At this age, any age, to continue to do what he is doing at this level, to find a way. I don’t even know what you ask him [after the match].”
Former British number one Tim Henman was also left speechless after what he had seen.
“Part of me stands here and I’m almost in shock and then I’m like this is what he does,” he said. “This is why he’s one of the greatest of all time. It’s another incredible match.”
Novak Djokovic does it again
Djokovic’s comeback was made all the more remarkable given his heroics in the last round, where he also came back and won in five sets.
Djokovic also looked as if you could be heading out against Lorenzo Musetti but turned things around.
The 37-year-old champion actually didn’t finish that match until the early hours of the morning, which may have had some impact on his fitness levels for the Cerundolo contest, given his lack of recovery.
Indeed, had Djokovic exited, with his knee issue causing a problem, it could have been a bad look for the tournament, who have already faced numerous complaints over a number of issues.
Djokovic record breaker
Given the manner of victory, the 24 time grand slam champion hardly needed any more reason to celebrate, however he was given one as another record tumbled.
Djokovic has now overtaken Roger Federer’s record and won 370 matches at grand slam level.
He will now go on to face either Taylor Fritz or Casper Ruud in the quarter-final.
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