Novak djokovic

Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates winning the men's singles final match of the French Open tennis tournament against Norway's Casper Ruud in three sets at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday. Thibault Camus/AP PARIS — Novak Djokovic made clear for years that this was his goal. What drove him. What inspired him. The biggest titles from his sport's biggest stages were Djokovic's main aim and now he finally stands alone — ahead of Rafael Nadal, ahead of Roger Federer, ahead of every man who ever has swung a racket. If Djokovic could wait this long to hold this record, he certainly could wait for the half-hour or so it took to straighten out his strokes in the French Open final. And so, after a bit of a shaky start in thick, humid air and under foreboding charcoal clouds Sunday, he imposed himself. The opponent at Court Philippe Chatrier, Casper Ruud, never really stood a serious chance after that. Djokovic earned his men's-record 23rd Grand Slam singles championship, breaking a tie with Nadal and moving three in front of the retired Federer, with a 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 victory over Ruud that really was not in doubt for most of its 3 hours, 13 minutes. Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia, puts this one alongside the French Open titles he earned in 2016 and 2021, making him the only man with at least three from each major event. He has won 10 trophies at the Australian Open, seven at Wimbledon and three at the U.S. Open. Serbia's Novak Djokovic, right, hugs Norway's Casper...

Tournament • Tournament • Acapulco • Adelaide 1 • Adelaide 2 • Antwerp • Astana • Atlanta • Auckland • Australian Open • Banja Luka • Barcelona • Basel • Bastad • Beijing • Buenos Aires • Chengdu • Cincinnati • Cordoba • Dallas • Delray Beach • Doha • Dubai • Eastbourne • Estoril • Geneva • Gstaad • Halle • Hamburg • Houston • Indian Wells • Kitzbuhel • Laver Cup • London • Los Cabos • Lyon • Madrid • Mallorca • Marrakech • Marseille • Metz • Miami • Monte-Carlo • Montpellier • Munich • Newport • Nitto ATP Finals • Paris • Pune • Rio de Janeiro • Roland Garros • Rome • Rotterdam • Santiago • Shanghai • 's-Hertogenbosch • Stockholm • Stuttgart • Tel Aviv • Tokyo • Toronto • Umag • United Cup • US Open • Vienna • Washington • Wimbledon • Winston-Salem • Zhuhai Go How do you deal with the weight of expectation? Relish it, according to The Serbian moved within one win of a record 23rd major trophy on Friday by defeating World No. 1 “Pressure is always on my shoulders, so it's not going to be different,” said the 36-year-old, who would move ahead of “Before the tournament I was saying that of course for me “I hope that I'll play my best tennis level on Sunday. The only thing I can say now is that I'm very focused. History is always something that's hovering over me, but I'm very happy to be in this position to write history of this sport, but I'm just thinking about winning the next match.” Djokovic produced some of his best tennis of the fortnight in Paris early against Alcara...

Nadal, a 14-time champion at Roland Garros, missed this year’s tournament because he is injured. Novak Djokovic kisses the trophy as he celebrates winning the French Open tennis tournament in Paris on June 11, 2023. Christophe Ena / AP This victory goes alongside the French Open titles earned by Djokovic in 2016 and 2021, making him the only man with at least three from each major event. Since collecting his very first Slam trophy at the 2008 Australian Open, he has accumulated totals of 10 there, seven at Wimbledon and three at the U.S. Open. Also worth noting: Djokovic is again halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam — winning all four majors in one season — something no man has achieved since Rod Laver in 1969. Djokovic came close to pulling off that feat in 2021, when he won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon and made it all the way to the title match at the U.S. Open before losing to Daniil Medvedev. Djokovic will resume that monumental pursuit at Wimbledon, which begins on the grass of the All England Club on July 3.

Read more “Definitely the best tennis I’ve played this year, this tournament, so far this season,” said Djokovic. “Best match. I’m really glad because obviously as the tournament progresses, the matches are going to get tougher. I’m really glad to manage to win the way I did tonight. To feel really great in terms of mobility and movement of my leg, which is great news. So all in all, perfect match for me.” De Minaur had arrived against arguably the best player in the world with ideal preparation. He had started the year with his first win over a member of the big three, beating Rafael Nadal in the United Cup, and he had followed up last year’s first foray to the Australian Open second week with an identical run. It was not enough. Early on, De Minaur attempted to impose himself in the exchanges, incessantly taking the ball on the rise and trying to dictate. But the contrast between their weight of shot was immediately stark. Even as he threw his entire weight behind forehands and furiously tried to stay on top of the baseline, De Minaur simply could not push his opponent back. After absorbing some pressure in the early game, Djokovic stepped inside the baseline and took full control. He served extremely well, he struck the ball exceptionally off both wings, scything through De Minaur’s defence with ease, and his movement became increasingly fluid. De Minaur is an admirable player with many assets. He is one of the fastest in the world, he looks to take the ball on the rise...