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The Serbian ace dispatched Casper Ruud at Rolland Garros to edge past great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the most successful male tennis player
Since his emergence, Novak Djokovic has used the dizzying bar set by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as inspiration, never doubting that he would one day rise above it. What once seemed unlikely eventually became inevitable.
On another Sunday final in Paris, his seventh, Djokovic finally surpassed his great rivals in the most significant category of all as he defeated Casper Ruud 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 to clinch his 23rd grand slam title.
This historic victory means that Djokovic is now the men’s sole grand slam record holder alongside countless other records.
After years of being blocked by the greatest claycourter of all time at the French Open, Nadal, Djokovic also now has three titles in Paris. No other man has ever won each grand slam tournament twice, but Djokovic is now the first to do so three times. He will also return to No 1 for a record-extending 388th week as the best player in the world.
While Djokovic still covers the court with more flexibility and ease than most athletes in their physical peak, these achievements at his age have only added another layer to his greatness.
Djokovic is now the oldest Roland Garros singles champion in history at 36 years and 20 days. Djokovic has also won the last three grand slam tournaments he has contested – he did not travel to the US Open last year due to the United States banning unvaccinated visitors – compiling a 21-match grand slam winning streak.
Few people gave Ruud, the fourth seed, much of a realistic chance against the third seed Djokovic, but one helpful factor in his favour was the experience of contesting the French and US Open finals last season against Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, with the Norwegian offering himself chances in the latter.
Ruud knew what level it would take for him to match Djokovic in a grand slam final. He started the match utterly vaporising his forehand, which sounded like a cannon in the acoustics of Court Philippe Chatrier.
Ruud also mixed in smart drop shots and he confidently closed down the net, underlining the potential he still has to uncover in his game.
As impressive as Ruud initially was, Djokovic started the match poorly. He was passive, yet he still constantly sprayed forehands. The ‘Djokosmash’ – the one notorious weakness in his otherwise complete game – made far too many appearances as he missed numerous overheads. Ruud quickly took an early 3-0 lead.
The benefit of being Novak Djokovic, though, is that he always has options. Djokovic dug in and he relied on his legs as he soaked up a series of stinging Ruud forehands before drawing out an overhead error from Ruud to retrieve the break.
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