Novak Djokovic wins his 23rd Grand Slam title by defeating Casper Ruud in the French Open Final

Novak Djokovic clarified for years that this was his goal. What carried him, what inspired him. The biggest title of the biggest stages of his game was the main objective of Djokovic and now he stands alone at the end – preceding Rafael Nadal, preceding Roger Federer, preceding every person who has ever swung the racket.

Novak Djokovic wins his 23rd Grand Slam title by defeating Casper Ruud in the French Open Final

If Djokovic can wait for this long time to hold this record, he can certainly wait for half an hour or so was taken to straighten his stroke in the French Open final. And so, after an instability began in thick, humid air and the clouds on Sunday, he planted himself.

Djokovic on his men’s record 23rd Grand Slam Singles Championship broke a tie with Nadal and transferred three to retired Federer, with a 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 win over Ruud that was not in doubt for most of its 3 hours, 13 minutes.

Djokovic placed it with the French Open titles earned in 2016 and 2021, making it the only person with at least three from each chief. He won his first win in the 2008 Australian Open and now has a total of 10 trophies, seven from Wimbledon and three from the U.S. Open.

“I knew that going into the tournament, going into the match, especially, today, that there is history on the line, but I try to focus my attention and my thoughts on preparing for this match in the best way possible to win, like any other match,” Djokovic said, wearing a red jacket with “23” stitched on the chest. “Of course, I would lie if I say that I didn’t think about the finish line that is right there and that one more match is needed to win a trophy — a historic one.”

Also, it is worth noting: he is half for a calendar-year Grand Slam- winning all four big companies in a season-No man has achieved since Rod Laver in 1969. Djokovic came close in 2021 when he won the Australian Open, French Open, and the U.S. before losing to Wimbledon and Daniil Medvedev. For the title match in the open, it was made in all the ways.

Djokovic will resume the pursuit in Wimbledon, which begins on the grass of the All-England club on 3 July.

“He has this software in his head that he can switch (on) when a Grand Slam comes,” said his coach, Goran Ivanisevic. “The day we arrived here, he was better, he was more motivated, he was more hungry. Every day, he played better and better.”

Entering the 2011 season, it is how the slam count was seen: 16 for Federer, nine for Nadal, and one for Djokovic.

“Pretty decent 12 years, I must say, for me,” Djokovic said with a smile.

That year climbing with a trio started and recently intensified: it has closed the trophy in 11 out of the last 20 slams, a remarkable run has been scored even more when seeing that it is that it was that period of that period. During the time two big companies did not participate because it was not found because he was not found vaccinated against COVID-19. Djokovic was deported before the Australian Open in January 2021, and he was last year’s U.S. A rule before the open was not allowed to fly to the United States under a rule, since it has been lifted.

Getting 23 not only sets the scar for men, but it also gives Serena Williams equal to Djokovic, who wrapped his career last year, which was the most by someone in the open era, which started in 1968. The Margaret Court won all of them. Record 24 slam trophies in the amateur era.

At 20 days past his 36th birthday, the Serb is the oldest singles champion at Roland Garros, which is considered to be the most terrible of large companies due to long, grinding points required by red soil, which slows down compared to grass or hard court Is. ,

Nadal’s 22nd major was achieved in Paris a year before, two days after he turned 36. He was sidelined with a hip injury in January and underwent orthopedic surgery on 2 June.

“Many congrats on this amazing achievement,” Nadal tweeted shortly after the final concluded. “23 is a number that just a few years back was (impossible) to think about, and you made it!”

Djokovic’s victory on Sunday means that he will return to number 1 in the ATP rankings on Monday, replacing Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic has already spent more weeks in the top position than any player-men or women-when the computerized tennis rankings were established half a century before.

It was Djokovic, who knocked out Alcaraz in the semi-finals on Thursday, until the 20 -year -old Spaniard’s body was badly increased, and he was worn on two thrilling sets. Alkaraj continued to play, but the score of the last two sets of the four-set match told the story: 6-1, 6-1.

This was the third slam final in the last five programs for 24-year-old Norway’s 24-year-old Ruud, but it is now 0-3. He lost to Nadal at the French Open a year ago and last September the U.S. From Alcaraz in the open.

Perhaps in its 34th major final, due to awareness about Djokovic, he was, which left for an unstable beginning.

“Maybe feeling a bit nervous, a little stressed,” Ruud said about his opponent.

But with the closure of the first set, Djokovic was absolutely Djokovic-esk, as he was taking 12 out of the last 13 points of the match, with a thunder of two-syllable nickname of the most spectators, “No-le! No-le! No-le!”

When a final variety came out of Ruud, Djokovic fell on his back, widening with limbs.

“He kind of pressures you, in a way, to go for more risks, and that’s tough,” Ruud said. “He just stepped up, like he knows how to do.”

First, however, Djokovic was disappearing the forehands-in ane, wide, made a different kind of mistake for a long time, beyond the opposite baseline to collide an overhead and 2-0 to collide with Net Way and 2-0 To retreat.

For whatever reason, that shot has always been the “Bite Noir” of Djokovic, and he later missed another overhead in the set.

Soon, Ruud led 4–1, thanks to the troubles of Djokovic. Till then, Djokovic deposited 13 unexpected errors, while Rood made just four.

And then everything changed.

After finishing the first set with 18 unexpected errors, Djokovic resumed itself, combined with only 14 in the previous two sets.

It was then Ruud’s turn to flub an overhead, shaking back and depositing it in the net to end the 29-stroke point. The first service break of Djokovic to 4-3, and he shook his right fist.

“A bit devastating,” Ruud called it.

They went to a tiebreaker, actually dominated by Djokovic. When imports grow, with stress, he simply gains excellence.

“He sort of just goes into this mode,” Ruud said, “where he just becomes like a wall.”

During the earlier 7 segments, Djokovic contributed four winners and zero unexpected errors.

It made its career a victorious percentage of .655 in Tybrekers. In 2023, it is 15–4, including 6–0 in Paris-55 points were played in half a dozen, and the sum of Djokovic’s total unexpected errors was zero.

“He just steps up,” Ruud said. “Either he plays ridiculous defense or he plays beautiful winners. Just doesn’t do any mistakes.”

This set alone lasted 1 hour, and 21 minutes, filled with extended exchanges, the kind of points that can be written about the stories about the points. There were people who lasted up to 20, 25, 29 strokes. One was won by Ruud with the help of a back-to-the-net, in between. On the second, Djokovic collided behind the baseline, smiling with his red shirt, blue shorts, and rusty skin.

Djokovic’s scratching and stretching and bending and shown on the twisting scoreboard on defense, of course. But all long points also acknowledged the energy and will of an opponent.

“It’s just annoying for me,” Ruud said, “but it’s very, very impressive.”

When Djokovic broke his powers on a full performance now, to proceed 3–0 in the second set, he repeatedly surrounded his right index finger against his temple. He had the wheel to face his box in the stand, where the group included Ivanisevik, Djokovic’s wife and two children, his parents, his agents, and even seven-time super bowl champions Tom Brady.

Retired Brady is widely seen as the NFL’s “Greatest Of All Time” — or “GOAT,”, and there has been a debate for some time in the world of tennis, on which between Djokovic, Nadal, or Federer deserves that sobriquet.

If there is a barometer Grand Slam Championship, no one can argue against the situation of Djokovic at this time.

“I leave those kinds of discussions of ‘who is the greatest?’ to someone else. I have, of course, huge faith and confidence and belief (in) myself and for everything that I am and who I am and what I am capable of doing,” Djokovic said at his news conference, the Coupes des Mousquetaires at Arm’s length. “So this trophy obviously is another confirmation of the quality of tennis that I’m still able to produce, I feel.”