Novak Djokovic wins after midnight in Paris—but at what price?

The defending champion showed his legendary tenacity to win the latest match in Roland Garros history against 22-year-old Lorenzo Musetti.

The contrast between the desire of a tennis fan and the needs of a tennis player is at its most polarized past midnight. For those watching, the spectacle enthralls. It’s a rare occasion, etched into memory, the spectator’s sleep deprivation made up soon enough with one or two nights of reasonable rest. For those playing, it is a harsh path, both in the moment, once again in the days and nights to come.

Call ultra-early morning pro tennis the athletic equivalent of having to take out a second mortgage, each successive hour of labor a form of compound debt. In the wake of Sunday morning’s four-hour and 32-minute epic between 22-year-old Lorenzo Musetti and 37-year-old Novak Djokovic, who will suffer most?

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Tip a hat to Musetti, for whom the spring clay court season had ended cruelly yet again. Three years ago in Paris, Musetti led Djokovic two sets to love, only to be overtaken, retiring from the match when trailing, 4-0 in the fifth.

This Sunday, he’d stood a point away from going down two sets to love. But at that moment, Musetti played a sharply aggressive point, and from there, went on to go up two sets to one, his game paced by electric shot-making, including a one-handed backhand which repeatedly displayed that shot’s distinctive elegance. Once again, though, Musetti had been dominated at the end, Djokovic winning the decider, 6-0.