The choice made by the French Open to place Grigor Dimitrov’s incomplete match against Zizou Bergs on Court Philippe Chatrier ahead of Djokovic and Musetti during the night session proved to be a misstep.
This match, which had been postponed due to rain on Friday, was relocated to Chatrier when it appeared that Alexander Zverev was close to securing a four-set victory over Tallon Griekspoor in the day’s final match.
However, the match extended to five sets, and Dimitrov, who resumed with a one-set lead, required four additional sets to ultimately defeat Bergs.
As a result, Djokovic and Italy’s Musetti, who were scheduled to begin at 8:15 p.m. local time, did not step onto the court until 10:37 p.m.
After clinching victory over four and a half hours later, Djokovic refrained from commenting extensively on the scheduling decision.
“I think some aspects could have been managed differently, but there is also something exciting about winning a match [so late],” the 37-year-old Serbian remarked.
“Physically, I truly pushed myself to the limit to secure this victory.”
BBC Sport has reached out to the French Open for a statement regarding the scheduling.
British doubles player Jamie Murray pointed out the repercussions of a late finish on a player’s recovery.
“You’re completely exhausted the next day, and coping with it the following day is a challenge as well,” said Murray, referencing his brother Andy’s experience of finishing an Australian Open match at 4 a.m. last year.
“It won’t be easy for Novak to recover; he isn’t 25 anymore.”
Djokovic, who is set to face Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round on Monday, was not scheduled for practice on Sunday.
