Novak Djokovic wins Roland Garros and is already the greatest in history, overtaking Rafa Nadal

Few doubts remained, few non-believers who, considering Novak Djokovic’s biography, could claim that he is the best in the history of tennis, but the Serb, always against the current and without public favor, cleared up the last unknowns and with his grand slam number 23 confirms what was already loud: he is the greatest.

Djokovic, the man who played the most Grand Slam finals, also became the one who won the most, defeating the brave but small cannibal Casper Ruud (7-6, 6-3 and 7-5) and winning his third Roland Garros.

This title not only ranks him as the tennis player with the most wins of all time, above Rafael Nadal’s 22, Roger Federer’s 20 and Pete Sampras’ 14, but also makes him the only man capable of winning all major tournaments on at least three occasions. With 23 titles in this category, she has equaled that achieved by Serena Williams and is only ahead of Margaret Court, who collected 24 between the amateur and open eras.

This time, the burden of the past did not hold back the Serb, who already melted in the final of the US Open 2021, when he was one win away from completing the Grand Slam, and he recovered from the resistance of Ruud, who came out bravely and shrewdly, but who for now does not have the strength to win in these matches. The Norwegian led 3-0, proving that Djokovic, when faced with the foundations of the sport, can also tremble. But it’s one thing to tremble and another to collapse.

Djokovic waited to calm his nerves and emerged as always. He reduced the entire deficit and brought the first set to a tie break. His specialty, where he singles out the greatest from the rest, where the tension is maximum and where mistakes are paid for. And he didn’t make a single unforced error in the six tiebreaks he played this year in Paris.

On this occasion, Ruud was defeated by a hopeless 7-1 for the Norwegian, who with the lost set faced the difficult task of becoming the fourth man in more than 300 games to come back after a set against Djokovic at a grand slam. Only Stan Wawrinka (three times), Nadal and Jurgen Melzer managed to do that. That statistic will remain at least until Wimbledon. As well as the fact that only Melzer managed to win two sets against the Serb, who has not let off the gas pedal since winning that tiebreak.

His second set was practically flawless, with not a single break point conceded and only seven errors. Djokovic had already calmed down, forgotten the ghosts of that final in New York against Daniil Medvedev and was ready, now, to rewrite the history of this sport.

The third set was redemption for Ruud, who returned to his best tennis and faced the Serb again, but harmlessly. When Đoković, at 5-5 on the scoreboard, felt he needed to push again, he finished a perfect game, with a break to love, to put himself in a position to be one serve away from being the best. He didn’t miss.

Between shouts of “Nole, Nole” the Serb closed the circle. In the land of Nadal, he surpassed the Spaniards and everyone. With this triumph, Djokovic also returns to number one and his number of weeks increases again from the 387 he already had. He is the tennis player with the most weeks at the top, with the most Grand Slam tournaments, the most 1000 Masters and the most Masters Cups. There is practically nothing left for him to achieve that he doesn’t have. It is the biggest, and after Paris there is no longer any debate.

Pulse with Carlos Alcaraz

His Roland Garros did not end as Carlos Alcaraz would have liked, but the track does not allow respite and just a few days after the end of participation in Paris, with those convulsive semi-finals, the Murcian is already thinking about the next challenge, the tour of grass. There are two clear dates: Queen’s and Wimbledon. The first tournament will serve as an introduction, and will start on June 19. Alcaraz has been confirming his presence for months, but it’s not a priority option. It will be at Wimbledon, where he aims to recover in the first place. Like Djokovic, Murcian is not defending anything until the end of Wimbledon. In total, if he were to play Queen’s and Wimbledon, he would qualify for 2,500 points, and would need to reduce his minus 420 to return to the top.

“I don’t want to say I’m the best in history, because that would be disrespectful”

Despite the fact that the victory against Casper Ruud in Paris ranks him as the most successful tennis player with 23 Grand Slams, Novak Djokovic avoided commenting on whether he is considered the best in the history of men’s tennis. “I don’t want to say that I am the best in history because that would be disrespectful to others. I’m not the one who has to say that. When you talk about history, you talk about Grand Slams and weeks as number one, and I broke those two records,” he said.

In addition, at the age of 36, he ruled out the possibility of retirement. “I can’t think about that as long as I keep winning titles, which motivates me. Now I’m going to Wimbledon,” said the new triple winner of Roland Garros.

Regarding the French Open, he also pointed out that the tournament was always the most complicated for him: “It was always the hardest for me to win.”

Djokovic, who wore a shirt with the number 23 and the Serbian flag after the match, said he had an “incredible feeling” and thanked the public for creating a “special, wonderful atmosphere”. The new ATP number one was “excited” and “very proud”.

Ruud: “He is one of the biggest legends, but I hope to beat him one day”

Norwegian Casper Ruud did not spare praise for Novak Djokovic after the Roland Garros final, where he lost 7-6, 6-3 and 7-5: “He showed how complete he is, that he can win on any surface and situation. This is the fifth time we have played and we had a very tight first set. He is one of the greatest legends of our sport, but I will give everything to beat him one day.”