Novak Djokovic had a clear goal in mind for years, and that was to claim the biggest titles from his sport’s biggest stages. Finally, he accomplished this, standing alone as the man with the most Grand Slam singles championships in men's tennis history, surpassing Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Although the French Open final began with a bit of a shaky start in thick, humid air, and under foreboding charcoal clouds, Djokovic imposed himself after a while. The opponent, Casper Ruud, did not stand a serious chance after that, and Djokovic earned his 23rd Grand Slam singles championship, breaking a tie with Nadal and moving three in front of the retired Federer. He won the final with a score of 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5, which was not in doubt for most of its 3 hours and 13 minutes.
Djokovic is a 36-year-old Serbian player who has won this year's French Open championship, alongside the French Open titles he also earned in 2016 and 2021. He is now the only man with at least three Grand Slam titles from each major event. He won his first Australian Open title in 2008 and has since won ten trophies from there, seven from Wimbledon and three from the US Open.
Djokovic is now halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam, a feat no man has achieved since Rod Laver in 1969. He came close to achieving this in 2021, winning the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon before losing the title match at the US Open to Daniil Medvedev. Djokovic will resume his pursuit of a calendar-year Grand Slam at Wimbledon, which begins on the grass of the All England Club on July 3.
Getting to 23 not only sets the record for men, but also puts Djokovic on parity with Serena Williams, who retired last year, for the most Grand Slam singles championships by anyone in the Open era, which began in 1968. Margaret Court won some of her all-time record of 24 Slam trophies in the amateur era.
At 20 days past his 36th birthday, Djokovic is the oldest singles champion at Roland Garros, which is considered the most grueling of the majors due to the lengthy, grinding points required by the red clay, which is slower underfoot than grass or hard courts.
Djokovic's triumph on Sunday means that he will return to his No. 1 ATP ranking position on Monday, replacing Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic already holds the record for spending the most weeks at the top spot than any player- man, or woman- since the establishment of computerized tennis rankings a half-century ago.
Djokovic's 34th major final was a bit shaky at first. However, by the end of the first set, Djokovic was in his element, taking 12 of the last 13 points of the match, accompanied by spectators' thunderous chants of his two-syllable nickname, “No-le! No-le! No-le!" He got off to a shaky start, missing forehands into the net, wide, long, and shanking an overhead from near the net way beyond the opposite baseline, which resulted in him getting broken and trailing 2-0.
After accumulating 13 unforced errors by that point, Djokovic recalibrated himself and made just 14 over the last two sets combined. By the end of the first set, Ruud led 4-1, thanks to Djokovic's troubles. Still, the tables slowly changed when Ruud flubbed an overhead, giving Djokovic his first service break. Djokovic's methods put pressure on his opponents to take more risks, but he stepped up and knew what to do.
Djokovic's scrambling and stretching and bending and twisting on defense have been noticed, and it shows up on the scoreboard. All of the long points that take place sap an opponent's energy and will. Djokovic's first service break in the second set made it 3-0, and his powers were then on full display.
In conclusion, if the barometer is Grand Slam championships, no one can argue against Djokovic’s status at the moment when it comes to comparisons of the greatest tennis players of all time.