"This is ridiculous";"Not to be celebrated" - Fans furious as Novak Djokovic's French Open 3R clash finishes past 3 am due to late scheduling

The match scheduling at the 2024 French Open has come under continuous criticism. Most recently, Novak Djokovic's third-round match against Lorenzo Musetti began over two hours later than its scheduled time and continued in the wee hours of the morning.

The Paris Slam has been affected by rain which has caused multiple delays and postponements. The doubles schedule for the tournament has taken a huge hit. The singles schedule is keeping up through late-night matches.

Djokovic's third-round match against Italian Musetti was scheduled for 8:20 PM local time on Saturday, June 1. The match started after 10:30 PM and continued till after 3:00 AM on Sunday, June 2.

The defending champion was on the brink of a loss as he was down by a set 2-1. However, the Serb came back and won the match 7-5, 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0. Notably, Djokovic winning the deciding set 6-0 meant that the set finished quickly, otherwise, the match could have lasted much longer.

Some X accounts expressed their displeasure with the scheduling from the organizers this year which caused the latest finish at a French Open tournament.

"It is gone 3am in Paris and Novak Djokovic has just won his third-round match of the French Open. This is ridiculous. It should never have started this late on court. No consideration for players, officials, staff, ball kids, media etc," a tennis journalist wrote.

"Finally all over at 3:06am. The sixth latest grand-slam finish in history and by far the latest here at the French Open. Not to be celebrated," another tennis journalist wrote.

"Giving players sleepless nights and less time to recuperate.... Tenacious wins here ...," one account wrote.

"What reckoning? Until players actually do something like not take the court after a certain time, tournaments & the tours do not care. This is something a PTPA or Players Council should act on, but what do those groups do in reality?" asked a fan.

"These late matches need to stop. Hard on everyone involved, not just the players. The players need to speak out," a third fan wrote.

"Bad scheduling, variety of heavier balls, slower courts, rain etc all meaning players are being stuck hanging around all day incase they play and start later than scheduled if at all," wrote yet another.

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Novak Djokovic refused to comment on the scheduling of the French Open 2024 after his 3R clash

Novak Djokovic at the 2024 French Open.

Novak Djokovic's 2024 French Open third-round clash against Lorenzo Musetti involved an incident where the Serb was penalized for a time violation. He failed to beat the shot clock and the umpire decided to go by the rules which was not welcomed by the fans.

The crowd jeered while Djokovic pleaded his case and asked the umpire to understand his situation.

"By the rules, you did the right thing, but have a little bit of understanding of what we're going through right now, it's four am!" Djokovic said.

His opponent Musetti also accepted that he should not lose the serve. However, the umpire stuck by his decision.

During his post-match interview, he refused to talk about the schedule and wanted to talk about the over 4-hour-long five-setter he played.

"I don't want to get into it [the schedule]. I have my opinions but I think there are great things to talk about in this match today. Both Lorenzo and my performances stand out, so I don't want to be talking about scheduling."