Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic isolated himself this Sunday by winning Roland Garros for the third time, as the male record holder of Grand Slam titles (23), breaking the tie with arch-rival Rafael Nadal, who will barely be able to win the title. strength of the current champion.
In the seventh appearance in the final of the ‘major’ of clay courts in Paris – his 34th in Grand Slams, in 70 participations – ‘Nole’, aged 36, managed to reach the ‘Olympus’, after almost always having walked. behind retired Swiss Roger Federer, who finished his career with 20, and Spaniard Rafael Nadal (22), the ‘king’ of Paris, where the Spaniard would last start in 2024 due to injuries.
The trophy won today, after defeating the Norwegian Casper Ruud, current Estoril Open champion, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 and 7-5, after three hours and 14 minutes, put ‘Djoko’ again at the top of the ATP hierarchy, in exchange for Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, continuing the record of weeks (388) he holds as number one in the world.
The presence in the decisive encounter on the prestigious Philippe-Chatrier field enabled the Serb to become the first player in the history of the sport to reach at least seven finals in each of the four majors. In Paris, he is the second player with the most finals, just behind Rafael Nadal (14, all ‘transformed’ into titles).
He has reached 10 finals at the Australian Open, seven at Roland Garros, eight at Wimbledon and nine at the US Open.
If Nadal is the ‘king’ of clay court at Roland Garros, then Djokovic is the champion of the Australian Open, where he has 100% efficiency in finals and has won 10 trophies on the fast floor – clearly the one in which he is most comfortable. ease – , particularly this year when he matched Nadal’s “majors” titles.
It wasn’t until 2022 that he was denied the opportunity to try to win another one as he refused to be vaccinated against covid-19, a stance that sparked widespread criticism worldwide, culminating in the Serb’s deportation from Australia.
A year earlier, in 2021, he came close to an unprecedented feat: winning the four Grand Slams and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at the same time, but would lose to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final. In Japan he ‘fell’ against the German Alexander Zverev.
Only the German Steffi Graf succeeded in the grueling ‘Golden Slam’ in 1988, while the Australian Rod Laver was ‘only’ short of Olympic gold in 1969.
It was precisely in Melbourne Park, in early 2008, that ‘Djoko’ began to make his tennis history and make his mark, making it clear that he would become one of the greatest and greatest tennis players and sportsmen of all time. .
In 2011, in one of his best years, he would reign again in Australia, with the victorious third Grand Slam taking place on the grass of Wimbledon, at the All Englad Club, a few months before the first US Open title.
Fifth, sixth and eighth career majors followed, in 2012, 2013 and 2015, all in Melbourne, with another Wimbledon in between, in 2014, a trophy he lifted again after a year.
The ’round’ tenth was achieved on North American soil, at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, in New York, in one of the best years of his career (2015), in which he only missed Roland Garros, won for the first time in 2016, the year he returned and started big with another Australia Open.
The 13th and 16th Grand Slams of his career were achieved at Wimbledon, in 2018 and 2019, the 14th at the fast course of Flushing Meadows, also in 2018, and the 15th at Melbourne (2019).
In 2020, the Serbian, born in Belgrade, was left alone with his 17th major, in Australia, where he was crowned two more times: 2021 and 2023.
As in 2011 and 2015, 2021 was another of Novak’s best, at the majors level, compared to the second title in Paris brick dust and sixth in British turf, which he successfully retired in 2022.
Source: DN
