French Open: History-making Djokovic claims record 23rd grand slam triumph
- The Serb defeated Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6 (7/1), 6-3, 7-5 in Paris on Sunday to snap the tie of 22 grand slams he shared with rival Rafael Nadal
- Novak Djokovic is the first man to win all four majors at least three times, reinforcing his case to be crowned the greatest player of all time
The 36-year-old Serb brushed off an early wobble to defeat Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6 (7/1), 6-3, 7-5 and snap the tie of 22 grand slams he shared with career-long rival Rafael Nadal.
Only Margaret Court and Serena Williams in women’s tennis have managed to rack up 23 grand slam titles. Court’s all-time mark of 24 will now be in his sights at Wimbledon next month.
On Monday, he will reclaim the world number one ranking and start his 388th week in the top spot.
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The sense of Sunday’s occasion certainly attracted sports A-listers.
NFL legend Tom Brady watched from the Djokovic box, football stars Kylian Mbappe and Zlatan Ibrahimovic sat side by side in the VIP area which also accommodated former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, a regular this weekend.
However, the fourth-ranked Norwegian was the more composed of the two at the start, sprinting out of the blocks for a 2-0 lead when Djokovic shanked an overhead.
Ruud, the 2022 runner-up to Nadal, stretched to 3-0 and 4-1 before Djokovic retrieved the break in the seventh game when his opponent buried an easy smash into the net with an open court begging.
It came at the end of a lung-busting 28-shot rally.
Djokovic missed a break point in the ninth game, tumbling to the red clay as he chased down a Ruud drive.
His frustration boiled over when he angrily accused umpire Damien Dumusois of rushing the players between changeovers on a heavy, humid afternoon in the French capital.
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Fired up, he then raced through the tiebreak, sealing the opener with a running forehand.
Djokovic broke for 2-0 in the second set and despite Ruud saving two set points in the eighth game, the Serb moved closer to his dream.
Ruud saved a break point in the third game of the third set before Djokovic was hit with a warning for taking too long between points.
But he wasn’t thrown out of his stride.
Djokovic broke for love at 6-5 and sealed his place in history when Ruud went wide.