Novak Djokovic's marathon five-set win over Lorenzo Musetti at the 2024 Roland Garros was a landmark achievement.
The Serbian star equaled one of the all-time records in tennis history, which was held by Roger Federer. The victory over the Italian on Saturday (but finished Sunday morning) was Djokovic's 369th match win of his Grand Slam career.
Following a slight change in the day's schedule on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the top seed had to wait at least a few hours before he arrived on the match court.
He came within a set of losing and relinquishing the No. 1 ranking but produced a great comeback in the fourth set before running away with the match down the stretch.
The match set the record for the latest finish at Roland Garros, and Djokovic would exit the venue past 3 a.m. on Sunday. The win takes him on level terms with Federer at the four majors.
The Serbian now owns a 369-49 career record at the Grand Slams, translating to a win rate of 88.3%. Federer, meanwhile, has a 369-60 record, which falls slightly below Djokovic's at 86%.
At the start of 2024, Djokovic had 361 wins and trailed the legendary retired Swiss by eight wins. He tallied five wins at the Australian Open, where he exited in the semifinal stage after losing to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.
Despite a subpar clay-court campaign in the lead-up to Roland Garros, Djokovic has picked up three wins to reach the second week, bridging the gap to Federer for the all-time most matches won at the Grand Slam level.
Other notable mentions in this category include Rafael Nadal (314 wins), Serena Williams (367 wins), Martina Navratilova (306 wins), Chris Evert (299 wins), and Steffi Graf (278 wins).
If Djokovic defeats Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round, he will surpass his old rival Federer and take the record for himself. It will be his first career meeting with the Argentine. He has not lost before the quarterfinal on the Parisian clay since 2009.
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