Novak Djokovic, once again, overcame huge adversity to reach the next round of the latest Grand Slam tournament.
Facing Lorenzo Musetti, a player who has been in wildly uninspired form of late on the ATP tour, it was expected that the world number one would make light work of the Italian.
However, suffering from his own struggles this year, he made hard work of the match, which spanned five sets and lasted just shy of four and a half hours.
But that did not stop him from overcoming a 2-1 set deficit, eventually winning 7-5 6-7 (6-8) 2-6 6-3 6-0.
Novak Djokovic reveals what he told Lorenzo Musetti after their Roland Garros match
In conducting his on-court interview immediately after the match, he was unsurprisingly full of praise for his opponent, who had pushed him all the way at Roland Garros.
It made for one of the best matches of the tournament thus far, as each player overcame their own separate challenges regarding momentum, quality and confidence.
Djokovic, as he often does, emerged the victor, but he could not leave without thanking his dance partner.
He told the crowd: ‘First of all, I have to say respect, congratulations to Musetti for such a great match. It’s a shame he lost but one of us had to lose tonight, or rather, this morning.
‘But, like I said to him at the end of the match, it was incredible. It was very closely, fought. It’s a shame because he was so close to winning the match. He was really close to winning.
‘I was lucky at the beginning of the fourth set, because he was the best player on the court at that moment.
‘At that time, I was having trouble countering his game. He was impenetrable on the court. Everything he did, he did extremely well. He made very few errors so I was really struggling.’
What made this even more special was that Djokovic conducted his Roland Garros interview in French throughout.
Novak Djokovic is building up steam…
With this win, and the gruelling, combative manner in which he earned it, it does feel like we are starting to see glimpses of the old Djokovic once again.
The same player who, just last year, won three of the four Grand Slam titles, and lost in the final of the one he failed to win.
He is showing quality and grit in immense proportions, and now faces Francisco Cerundolo for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Given his pedigree, and the 24 Grand Slam titles he boasts, to see him return to form on the biggest stage should surprise nobody.
Especially after Andy Roddick predicted Djokovic to thrive at Roland Garros.
However, were he to win the whole thing in the face of such stiff and surprisingly present competition, would be a remarkable feat. He would likely look to this five-set thriller as the turning point in such a conquest.
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