Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7(6-8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to lift the French Open title for the second time in his career.
Djokovic, with his 19th Grand Slam title, has closed in on Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the all-time Grand Slam titles list. Both the players have won 20 Grand Slams each.
Djokovic has also become the first man in the Open Era to complete the career Grand Slam twice. (He has won the Australian Open nine times, Wimbledon five times, and the US Open three times.)
He has become the first man in 52 years, after Rod Laver, to win all the four Grand Slams twice. Overall, he is the third male tennis player to achieve this unique feat. The third being Roy Emerson.
This not it. Djokovic has broken a pattern of results concerning the 13-time Roland Garros champion in Rafael Nadal. Until today, no one had ever gone on to win the title after defeat Nadal on the red clay of Paris. Djokovic was one of the casualties in 2015 when he triumphed over Nadal in the quarterfinals and then lost the final to Stan Wawrinka. The other one was Robin Soderling, who beat Nadal in the 2009 edition only to be beaten by Roger Federer in the final.
This is Djokovic’s 84th career title. He turned pro in 2003. Overall, he now has nine Australian Open, five Wimbledon, and three US Open titles to his name.
This was Djokovic’s 29th Major final, taking him to second place on the all-time list for most Grand Slam men’s singles finals reached. He is only behind 31 finals appearances of Roger Federer.
The 2021 French Open triumph is Djokovic’s second Roland Garros title, the first coming in 2016. In the semifinals on Friday against Rafael Nadal, he had become the first player to beat the Spaniard in the semifinals of the tournament and the first player to beat him twice on terre batteu.
This is Djokovic’s third title of the year after Djokovic’s record 2021 now reads 21 wins and 3 losses.
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