Novak Djokovic Rallies to Beat Lorenzo Musetti, Advances to 2021 French Open Quarters

After some early stumbles, Novak Djokovic survived his fourth-round match in come-from-behind fashion against Lorenzo Musetti to advance to the French Open quarterfinal.

The No. 1 seed in the men's draw earned a 6-7 (7), 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-0, 4-0 win Monday on Court Philippe-Chatrier, reaching at least the last eight for the 12th straight year at Roland-Garros.

Musetti was on track for one of the biggest upsets of the tennis season with wins in the first two sets, but Djokovic responded with a dominant showing in the final three sets. Musetti retired in the final set because of a hip injury.

It was almost a completely different match down the stretch as the Serb lost only 18 total points while dropping one game in the last three sets.

The loss ends the dream run for Musetti, who won three straight matches and put up a major fight against the top player in the world rankings in the 19-year-old's first Grand Slam appearance.

Djokovic will now face another Italian in Matteo Berrettini, who advanced in a walkover after Roger Federer withdrew from the tournament.

Djokovic experienced little resistance early in this tournament, with the 18-time Grand Slam winner winning his first three rounds in straight sets. It was a much different scenario in Round 4.

Musetti and Djokovic went shot-for-shot early on, and each of the first two sets went to a tiebreak.

Despite the inexperience, Musetti looked right at home in the tiebreaks and won each of the first two sets.

The 2-0 lead was well-earned from a player who was playing at an extremely high level.

Of course, it is still very difficult to beat an elite player in a five-set battle.

Djokovic looked like himself in the third set, earning two breaks while winning 16-of-19 service points on the way to a 6-1 win.

This shifted the momentum back to the favorite, and Djokovic dominated in the fourth set with an eventual 6-0 bagel, winning 25 of the 29 total points.

As well as Musetti performed at the start of the day, he simply couldn't keep up as the match progressed.

Djokovic closed out the victory in the fifth set with the type of focus and determination we have come to expect from him. He won all nine of his break opportunities in the match and 49 percent of total return points.

The fourth-round battle could end up being a wake-up call for the title contender as he looks to earn his second career title in Paris. The question is how well he can recover after expending so much energy during the three hours and 27 minutes of action.

Musetti, meanwhile, put himself on the map even with the loss and will be someone to watch at big events going forward.