Write off Djokovic at your peril. So many times he has looked on the brink, so many times he has produced a logic-defying victory.
But even after seeing countless comebacks over the years, the manner in which he beat Cerundolo – at this stage of his career – was still remarkable.
Djokovic arrived at Roland Garros on the back of a turbulent season, having played below his lofty expectations and not reached a final, as well as parting ways with long-time coach Goran Ivanisevic.
While he had moved in a “positive direction” after straight-set wins in his opening two matches, the exertions of beating Musetti led to questions about his shape against Cerundolo.
Finishing in the early hours also reopened a long-running discussion about why tennis finishes so late and the impact on the welfare of the players.
Unsurprisingly, Djokovic looked tetchy and uncomfortable from the start.
Before the match he was wearing tape behind his right knee and needed treatment on the same leg early in the second set, laying out on the court as the physio assessed him.
Djokovic was heard telling the physio that he had “screwed up” his knee, adding: “I’m slipping and sliding all the time.”
He was given what appeared to be painkillers and called the physio to his chair several more times over the rest of the match.
Djokovic was breathing heavily and limping around the court as he looked set to suffer his earliest Roland Garros exit since a third-round defeat in 2009.
It would also have been his earliest exit at a Grand Slam tournament since the 2020 US Open – when he was defaulted after accidentally hitting a ball at a line judge.
But, after going a break down in the fourth and trailing 4-2, he fought back to level at 4-4 and struck again when Cerundolo served to stay in the set.
Now moving better and acting less demonstratively, Djokovic broke for 2-0 in the decider and it looked like he could race away to victory.
Cerundolo was not finished as he aimed to reach his first major quarter-final, though.
The 25-year-old Argentine instantly put the set back on serve, but Djokovic exerted more pressure to break again for 5-3 and serve out another memorable win.
