In a dramatic late-night encounter at the French Open, Novak Djokovic narrowly avoided his worst defeat in 15 years, overcoming a resilient Lorenzo Musetti in a grueling third-round match that stretched into the early hours of Sunday morning. The defending champion and 24-time Grand Slam title winner clawed his way back from two sets to one down, eventually prevailing 7-5, 6-7 (6/8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in a match that concluded at 3:07 a.m. (0107 GMT).

Djokovic's four-hour and 29-minute triumph allowed the 37-year-old world number one to tie Roger Federer's record of 369 Grand Slam match wins. His next challenge will be against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo for a spot in the quarter-finals.

"I need to say congratulations to Lorenzo Musetti; it's a shame someone had to lose," Djokovic remarked in his on-court interview. "He played an incredible match. He was very, very close to winning."

The match began late, at nearly 10:45 p.m. (2045 GMT) on Saturday, due to rain delays that forced officials to reschedule matches onto the covered show courts. Djokovic recovered from an early break in the first set and secured it by breaking Musetti again in the 12th game. Despite leading 3-1 in the second set, Djokovic was pushed back by Musetti, who won the set in a tiebreaker. Musetti then dominated the third set, but Djokovic rallied in the fourth, showcasing his trademark resilience to force a deciding fifth set, which he won convincingly.

Alexander Zverev, the world number four, also faced a tough test, edging out Tallon Griekspoor in a five-set thriller. Zverev, who had a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (10/3) victory, trailed 4-1 in the final set before mounting a comeback. Zverev, currently under the shadow of an ongoing assault trial in Berlin, praised his opponent, calling Griekspoor an "incredible player" and noting his own struggles against him.

Zverev, who has reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros for the past three years, will face Denmark's Holger Rune next.

In other matches, fifth seed Daniil Medvedev defeated Tomas Machac 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 to advance to the last 16 for the third time. Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime set up a fourth-round clash with Carlos Alcaraz after a commanding 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 win over Ben Shelton. Last year's runner-up Casper Ruud defeated Argentina's Tomas Etcheverry 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 in a match that ended shortly before 1 a.m., and will next face Taylor Fritz, who overcame Thanasi Kokkinakis in five sets.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the fourth round, defeating close friend Paula Badosa 7-5, 6-1 under the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier. Sabalenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, recovered from 3-5 down in the first set to win 10 of the last 11 games. She will face US 22nd seed Emma Navarro next.

The rain-affected schedule saw the women's third-round match between Russia's Mirra Andreeva and Peyton Stearns of the United States moved multiple times. Andreeva won 6-2, 6-1 in just 67 minutes and will face Russian-born French player Varvara Gracheva in the fourth round.

Fourth seed Elena Rybakina advanced with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Belgium's Elise Mertens, while Chinese seventh seed Zheng Qinwen was ousted by Russia's Elina Avanesyan, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10/6). Avanesyan, ranked 70th in the world, also reached the fourth round last year.