"I can’t recall seeing anything like it": Novak Djokovic's heroics in French Open leaves John McEnroe 'mesmerised'

Former world number one John McEnroe has praised Serbia’s Novak Djokovic for winning ‘back-to-back’ five-setters at the French Open. The 36-year-old is often regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles.

Djokovic is currently participating in the French Open, where he booked his place in the quarterfinal after beating Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in a hard-fought contest with a score of 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

McEnroe, who is working for Eurosport in the ongoing campaign as a commentator, heaped praise on the performance of the reigning world number one and claimed that he has ‘never’ seen anything like that before where a 37-year-old wins two back-to-back five-setters in a Grand Slam.

“I can’t recall seeing anything like it,” he said. “I still am mesmerised and amazed that this guy can pull this off at this point. At 37, how does this guy still find a way to pull these matches out? He played to 3am in the morning and then recovers and gets down two sets to one and 4-2, somehow wins that, gets up 2-0 in the fifth, blows that, and still wins. It’s truly amazing.”

Before beating Cerundolo, Djokovic managed to get over the line in another five-setter against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti. He eventually came out on top with a score of 7-5, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.

The game will be remembered for a very long time as it finished at three in the morning, which was the latest finish for any match in the history of Grand Slam events.

Djokovic’s quarterfinal will be a repeat of last year’s French Open final. He will face Norway’s Casper Ruud, who booked his place in the last eight after beating America’s Taylor Fritz with a score of 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.