Quote of the Day: The secret to Adrian Mannarino's success is ... tequila

Start calling Adrian Mannarino Melbourne's marathon man. As Friday bled into Saturday, the 20th-seeded Frenchman scored his third five-set win in as many matches at the Australian Open, coming from two-sets-to-one down to topple No. 16 seed Ben Shelton in the third round.

The 35-year-old previously defeated Stan Wawrinka and Jaume Munar before beating Shelton, last year's quarterfinalist, 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4, in four hours and 46 minutes to earn a match against world No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic. (Just don't tell him ... but more on that later.)

Afterwards, Mannarino—who saved 14 of the 21 break points he faced, and withstood 73 winners by Shelton—cheekily revealed in his on-court interview what he's been been drinking recently to turn back the clock ... and it's not protein shakes and green juices, nor is it the wine that his homeland has made famous.

Q: You've won more titles after your 34th birthday than before. Can you give a few people in this building, including myself, what's the key to getting better when you're supposed to be 'too old'?

ADRIAN MANNARINO: I started tequila. That helps to not think too much. You just keep going. Sometimes, you need to clear your brain and stop thinking about the past, and just keep going. Don't look back and just go.

Why argue with what works? After all, Mannarino has now won his last 11 five-set matches dating back to a loss to Andy Murray at the 2015 US Open—and he has a very logical explanation as to how the regime has helped loft him inside the Top 20 for the first time, on the heels of winning three titles, in a career-best 2023 season.

"It relaxes the muscles, man!"

With no apparel sponsor and a racquet strung at half the weight of most players on tour, the mercurial Frenchman is also unique for his strict pre-match superstition of not wanting to know his opponent until as late as possible before going on court—something that he says has impacted how other players in the locker room view him.

"Many players like to play with lefty before playing a lefty, practicing with a righty before playing a righty. I just think that's b---s---," he said. "This is one of the reasons why I'm struggling to find partners because people, they're really, really intense in their preparation. They want everything to be perfect. For me, doesn't really matter.

"Yesterday I was just too tired. I've been playing like 15 minutes with my coach. I said, 'No, I don't want nothing more, I've been playing enough tennis the last few days.'

"I think the most important now is to recover and just feel good and prepare on court. That's the most important."

And after having spent 11 hours and 46 minutes on court already, Mannarino might need to make his next shot a double. He's winless in four prior meetings against Djokovic, having only won one set—though they haven't played in six years.