When Novak Djokovic gets a foot in history’s door, he has a habit of prising it open. Stefanos Tsitsipas produced some sumptuous tennis to stall the world No 1’s latest assault on the record books, but Djokovic fought back from two sets down to claim his second French Open title and become the first man in the open era to win a double career grand slam.
With Wimbledon only a fortnight away, potential milestones are lining up like dominoes for the Serb. Djokovic’s 6-7 (6-8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 triumph earned him his 19th major, leaving him just one shy of the record shared by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Should he claim a sixth win in SW19 to draw level with his great rivals, victory at the US Open in September would make him the first man to achieve a calendar year grand slam since Rod Laver in 1969. There is even the possibility of a “golden slam”, a clean sweep of all four majors plus an Olympic gold medal. Only once in history has that feat been achieved, by Steffi Graf in 1988.
You would not put any of it past him. His resilience knows no bounds. On a sweltering day in Paris, and less than 48 hours after his gruelling, gladiatorial semi-final win over Rafael Nadal, Djokovic was forced to recover from two sets down in a major final for the first time against a younger, free-swinging opponent who played like he had a date with destiny. The 34-year-old looked physically and mentally spent at times, but went about his business with the calm conviction of a man who has seen it all before.
“The atmosphere was amazing a few days ago against Rafa and today against Stefanos,” said Djokovic. “Unforgettable matches, unforgettable moments for me, for my career, for my life. I will definitely remember the last 48 hours for the rest of my life.”
Tsitsipas battled manfully to become the first Greek player to win a grand slam singles title. As Djokovic suggested afterwards, his time will surely come. The Greek has constructed a wonderful campaign on the terre battue, claiming his first Masters 1000 win in Monte Carlo, adding a second clay-court title in Lyon, and refusing to fall short in a third successive major semi-final when Alexander Zverev pushed him to a fifth set in the previous round.
At two sets to the good against Djokovic, he looked a near certainty for the title. But the top seed returned from a bathroom break with a renewed sense of purpose, and as he slowly forced his way back into the match, almost through sheer force of will, Tsitsipas gradually began to wane.
“I started playing really short, I felt like my rhythm was off, I really don’t know why,” said Tsitsipas. “It was very strange considering that I started finding my rhythm, finding my shots; my movement on the court was perfect, and suddenly I just felt cold and out of it. It was difficult to readjust, I felt like I lost my game a little bit. I really wish I could understand why things like this happen and evolve. I was trying to figure it out during my game [but] it was difficult.”
Tsitsipas started the opening game of the contest with a double fault, and concluded it with three consecutive aces. It was perhaps indicative of his state of mind: nervous about his first appearance in a grand slam final, certainly, but determined to play the match on his own terms. He was not helped in that aim by the immaculate serving of Djokovic, who held three consecutive games to love. But as the set entered its decisive phase, Djokovic began to look curiously vulnerable. Serving at 4-5, he netted a straightforward overhead. The pace of his serve diminished, and Tsitsipas accepted the proffered gift with glee, walloping his returns and forcing the Serb to grind out the longest rally of the set to stave off a set point.
Having held, Djokovic reprised the strategy he had used against Nadal, deploying slower balls to test Tsitsipas’patience and throw him out of his swashbuckling rhythm. He drew two crucial errors from the Greek, breaking to lead 6-5, but squandered his advantage in the next game with some strangely passive play. His woes continued in the ensuing tiebreak, where he quickly fell behind 0-4. Once again Djokovic rallied, and at 6-5 he carved out a set point of his own. He was denied by a brilliant Tsitsipas forehand, and the Greek reaped further dividends from his sustained aggression to wrap up the set.
Now Djokovic began to look increasingly lost, unable to find a solution to the Greek’s glorious, sweeping forehand as it reared up off the clay in the kind of baking hot conditions that Nadal would have relished. Tsitsipas broke in the first and seventh games, and once he had sealed the set with an ace, the Serb disappeared for the obligatory bathroom break. It proved the cue for the real Novak Djokovic to finally stand up. “He came back to me like a different player suddenly,” said Tsitsipas. “He played really well. He gave me no space.”
With Tsitsipas serving at 1-2, Djokovic found a searing backhand winner to carve out a break point. Tsitsipas snuffed out the danger with an unanswerable forehand, and the stage was set for a compelling passage of nip-and-tuck play. Tsitsipas boldly staved off two more break points, holding his nerve with a courageous overhead before swiping a rapier-like backhand, and when Djokovic hooked a forehand approach wide to miss a third, he looked to his box in dismay. But there comes a time in any tennis match when the door edges ajar, and few have a keener eye for such moments than the Serb. Redoubling his efforts, Djokovic strong-armed his way through a baseline exchange to bring up a fourth opportunity, and his next return was deep and true, forcing a Tsitsipas error.
Djokovic remained outwardly impassive, but the renewed vibrancy to his play spoke volumes about his inner state. Suddenly he was stepping inside the baseline, finding the Tsitsipas backhand more frequently, pulling the Greek away from the centre of the court. It was almost as though he had been deliberately waiting for the contest to enter its third hour before putting the key in the ignition. Whatever the case, Tsitsipas was left standing. The Greek had treatment on his lower back before the start of the fourth set, and from there the urgent, flowing footwork of the first two sets became an increasingly distant memory. Tsitsipas was broken immediately, and when he failed to survive another lengthy game on serve at 0-2 the set was over in all but name.
As the decider began, one’s mind drifted back to last year’s semi-final between the two, when Djokovic won the first two sets only to be extended to a fifth. Tsitsipas had run out of energy that day. Could the Greek reverse the pattern in his favour this time? It seemed unlikely when he faced a break point in the opening game. Tsitsipas averted the danger with a brave wrong-footing forehand, but when an awkward bounce at deuce in his next service game drew a miscued backhand, Djokovic needed no further invitation. He clambered all over his next return to drill the ball at the feet of the helpless Tsitsipas, and from there the outcome was rarely in doubt.
“I am thrilled and I’m very proud of this achievement,” said Djokovic. “Being part of the history of the sport that I love with all my heart is always something that is very inspiring and very fulfilling for me, so I couldn’t be happier and more satisfied with this kind of scenario in the last 48 hours. It probably ranks in the top three all-time achievements and experiences that I had in my professional tennis career.”