Paris: Defending champion Novak Djokovic toiled to subdue Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 6-1 5-7 3-6 7-5 6-3 on Monday and reach the quarter-finals of the French Open after the top seed recovered from a knee issue during the milestone victory.
The Serb, who is chasing a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title, sealed his 370th match victory at the majors that broke a tie with Swiss great Roger Federer but his title rivals will be smelling blood after another up-and-down display.
The 37-year-old showed no early signs of fatigue from his marathon third-round win over Lorenzo Musetti, a 4-1/2 hour epic that ended in the early hours of Sunday morning, as he blitzed claycourt specialist Cerundolo in the opening set.
He sustained a right knee issue early in the next and needed treatment on court before saving four break points to draw level at 3-3 with a backhand bullet, but allowed his opponent a way back in by surrendering his serve in the 12th game.
Cerundolo grabbed another break early in the next set to go 3-0 up and comfortably got ahead in the clash as alarm bells began to ring for Djokovic in a second straight match at the claycourt Grand Slam he has won three times.
The finish line seemed to appear for Cerundolo when he went up 4-2 in the next set but the 25-year-old squandered the advantage as Djokovic sent down two big serves and produced a spectacular drop en route to holding for 6-5 before levelling the contest.
Having dropped serve after a fast start, Djokovic took a nasty tumble during a point and ranted about the state of the Court Philippe Chatrier surface before dusting himself off to close out a superb victory.
Bopanna-Ebden team progresses to quarterfinals
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden erased a one-set deficit to edge past the fighting pair of N Sriram Balaji and MA Reyes-Varela Martinez in the Super Tie-breaker, moving to the French Open quarterfinals, here on Monday.
The second-seeded Indo-Australian pair kept its cool in crunch moments to come out 6-7(2) 6-3 7-6 (10-8) winners in the men's doubles third round.
Bopanna is yet to finalise his partner for the Paris Games and Balaji must have impressed the seasoned Coorgi, who is only the third Indian to win Grand Slam titles. Bopanna, being a top-10 player, has the choice to pick his partner for the Games.
After staying on serve for first eight games, there was an opportunity for the second seeds to put pressure on the rivals when Balaji could not return Ebden's backhand volley, which made it 30-all. However Balaji managed to hold serve, staying ahead 5-4 in the opening set. Bopanna also held his serve comfortably.
Another opportunity came for the second seeds when Reyes-Varela came out to serve and was down 15-40. The Indo-Mexican pair though saved both chances. Balaji and Reyes-Varela had a great chance to close the set in their favour when Ebden hit a forehand wide at 30-all but Balaji returned wide on the break chance.
Eventually, a tie-break was required to decide the opening set. Balaji and Reyes-Varela raced to a 4-1 lead after Bopanna served a double fault at 1-1. The Mexican hit a stunning backhand angled winner and Bopanna made an unforced error.
From there, it was a set to be taken by the unseeded pair. Reyes-Varlea hit a volley winner to earn four set points. Balaji converted the first with a widish unreturnable serve. An early break in the second set gave Bopanna and Ebden to force a third set and they did not lose the opportunity.
The third set was a tight affair with both pairs not giving an inch to each other. As the set progressed the games were held at love. Ebden came out to serve under pressure at 5-6 but delivered.
The Super Tie-breaker was equally engrossing with the two pairs locked 6-6 at one stage. However, Balaji served a double fault at 7-8 to hand the opponents two match points. They saved the first when Ebden's overhead smash went into net but the Australian found a winner on the next to close the game.
Russian teenager Andreeva sends Gracheva packing
Russian-born Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva rode a huge wave of support from the large partisan crowd but could not prevent a 7-5 6-2 defeat by teenager Mirra Andreeva in the French Open fourth round on Monday.
It was a disappointing end for fans on Court Suzanne Lenglen who had taken to Gracheva after she obtained French nationality last year but they also acknowledged rising Russian 17-year-old Andreeva who becomes the youngest player to reach the women's quarter-finals at the French Open since 2006.
Andreeva breezed through the opening set and broke Gracheva early in the second but the 88th-ranked Frenchwoman raised her level in the third game and produced a huge forehand to thwart her opponent temporarily.
The joy was short-lived, however, as Andreeva hardly put a foot wrong after that with power and precision to complete the match in 91 minutes. "There are things I could have done better. I could perhaps do away with the mistakes I made, the faults on my forehand which was played too quickly," Gracheva said. "I have to be more patient."
Ranked 88th at the start of the tournament, the Frenchwoman is set to rise to 70 in the rankings when they are updated on Monday, which should allow her to participate in the Paris Olympics as the fourth-best French player. "It's a beautiful memory for me and my team. I will try and enjoy that moment for as long as I can," she said.
The usually fickle French crowd chanted Andreeva's name and gave her a huge ovation as 23-year-old Gracheva left the court wondering what could have been. In the next round she will face Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka who defeated American Emma Navarro 6-2 6-3 earlier in the day.