Novak Djokovic revealed he was close to quitting against Francisco Cerundolo with a knee injury, before forcing his way through the pain barrier and into the French Open quarter-finals.
The reigning champion, who is eyeing a record-breaking 25th major singles title this week, came through a second successive five-set epic to book his place in the last eight at Roland-Garros.
Djokovic finished his third-round clash with Lorenzo Musetti after 3am in the early hours of Sunday morning, and was on Court Philippe-Chatrier over four-and-a-half hours to battle past Cerundolo.
Although, the Serb looked like he could be heading for an early exit when he required treatment for a knee problem in the second set, having dominated the first 6-1.
It certainly affected the three-time champion as he fell two sets to one behind before receiving medication for the issue.
Djokovic dug deep from 4-2 down in the fourth set to force a decider, which he subsequently controlled to scrape over the line a 6-1 5-7 3-6 7-5 6-3 winner.
"For the last couple of weeks, I have had slight discomfort in my right knee, but I haven't had an injury that would concern me at all," he told reporters during his post-match press conference.
"I was playing a few tournaments with it, and had no issues until today. I actually felt great coming into the match - as good as I could under the circumstances - and played really well [in the] first set.
"Then, in the third game of the second set, I slipped, one of the many times that I slipped and fell today. That affected the knee. I started feeling the pain and asked for the physio treatment and the medical timeout, and tried to take care of it.
"It did disrupt me definitely in play. For two sets, two sets and a half, I didn't want to stay in the rally too long. Every time he would make sudden drop shots or change directions, I would not be feeling comfortable doing the running.
"At one point, I didn't know whether I should continue or not with what was happening. I got the medication, and then after the third set was done, I asked for more medication, and I got it.
"I don't know how I won. I don't know what will happen tomorrow or if I'll be able to step out on the court and play. I hope so. Let's see what happens."
Next up for Djokovic is a quarter-final meeting with two-time runner-up Casper Ruud, and what will be a repeat of last year's final.
Gauff took a relaxed approach in China Open final
Coco Gauff said her China Open triumph over Karolina Muchova came down to being relaxed.
Gauff won 6-1 6-3 in just 76 minutes in Beijing to become the youngest winner of the tournament in 14 years.
The victory marked the 20-year-old's second WTA 1000 title, which makes her the second-youngest player since the format was introduced to win her first two finals.
And Gauff explained she took a more relaxed approach in Sunday's showdown.
"I was just like, 'This match is not going to change my life.' I knew regardless of the result today, I was proud. I was able to overcome and still work on things that I've been practising on, too, and stick to it," she said.
"When you get that far, you're just happy to be in the final. I think it's just being relaxed. My first final, when I was 15, was the worst because you're like, 'I'm never going to get this opportunity again,' which is completely not true.
"The experience of winning in the past, I realise that, yes, winning is great. It feels great right now. But tomorrow I'm going to wake up and it's a different day, 70% of the world doesn't know anything about whether I won or lost, probably even more."
Gauff has now claimed three straight wins over Muchova, who is yet to beat the American.
"I lost to her three times in a row. I'll say very similar losses. It was always the latest rounds of the tournaments when I got many matches under the belt," said Muchova.
"It's very physical with her. I felt like second [best] always in the rallies."
Alcaraz passes stern Wu test to progress in Shanghai
Carlos Alcaraz held his nerve against a spirited Wu Yibing to progress to the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters.
Having already beaten another of the home favourites, Shang Juncheng, in his opener, the Spaniard had to dig deep but prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in one hour and 41 minutes on Sunday.
There was nothing to split the two in the opening set, though Wu caused some real problems with his power, and successfully defended two break points in the ninth game.
The tie-break was also tight, but Alcaraz found his edge at the right time, winning the last three points.
Buoyed by the home crowd, Wu started the second set strongly too, but Alcaraz absorbed the pressure well and got the only break of the match in a three-game winning run.
With his winning streak extended, Alcaraz will now face either Gael Monfils or Ugo Humbert in the next round.
Data Debrief: Alcaraz marches on
Alcaraz has put his shock US Open exit firmly behind him, with this his 11th win on the bounce since then.
He coped well with the early pressure Wu threw at him, and put in another solid performance, hitting 11 aces and winning 71% of his points at the net (5/7).
Gauff races to second title of 2024 with China Open cruise
Coco Gauff claimed the China Open title in emphatic fashion on Sunday, bringing up her second WTA Tour trophy of the season.
The world number six defeated US Open semi-finalist Karolina Muchova 6-1 6-3 in just 76 minutes to be crowned the youngest winner of the China Open in 14 years.
Gauff swiftly broke the Czech's serve to propel herself into a 2-0 lead before going on to dominate the first set, which lasted only half-an-hour.
Muchova looked to be surmounting a comeback in the second set, breaking immediately, but Gauff fought straight back, and the American broke Muchova once more to race to victory in Beijing.
It was an impressive win against an opponent who had defeated world number two Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen en route to the final. Gauff played 24 winning shots but restricted the world number 49 to just 14.
It marked Gauff's second WTA 1000 title, making her the second-youngest player since the format was introduced to win her first two finals, only older than Bianca Andreescu.
Data Debrief: Gauff a proven winner
Gauff, who was playing her 101st WTA 1000 match, is now the first player to win each of her first seven WTA hard-court finals in the Open Era.
Her victory meant she became the second American player to win the women's singles title at the China Open after Serena Williams (in 2004 and 2013 since the inception of the tournament in 2004.
Gauff has now defeated Muchova in all three meetings in WTA events, previously beating her at the US Open and Cincinnati Open in 2023.
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