Djokovic becomes the most successful in history and becomes world number one on clay again from Nadal

There is no doubt that Novak Djokovic is a tennis animal. Sometimes he seems sleepy, almost harmless. However, it is still there, hidden. And that’s what happened before Casper Ruud (4th) his opponent in the Roland Garros final, who reached the decisive match after having swept away several of his rivals: Nole simply attacked at the right time to achieve glory, recover world number one and become the player with the most Grand Slam titles in history (23) . After three hours and 13 minutes, the 7-6 (1), 6-3 and 7-5 consecrated him for the third time in the major Parisian.

A significant scenario for the 36-year-old tennis player, who on other occasions saw Rafael Nadal lift the crown in front of him, with whom he shared the record for Grand Slam titles. Also because right there, two days before, had condemned the battle for number one against Carlos Alcaraz the natural heir of the Mallorcan.

Things started complicated for the Serb. The Norwegian went out to play his game, varying heights and speeds, making him quite uncomfortable. Indeed, after an eternal second game, he managed to break his serve and the surprise settled in Philippe Chatrier. But when the Scandinavian looked more confident, he missed. His first-serve percentage was low, he made unforced errors and the Balkan started dropping shots. Thus, the legend recovered the station wagon in the seventh Games and from then on the party changed course.

Incidentally, the first set was defined in a decisive game that Djokovic played like gods. It didn’t fail. He quickly made the difference with spectacular points and also helped by the frustration of Ruud, who saw how he worked the points but lost all the rallies . An open forehand was enough to close the tiebreaker with an emphatic 7-1, after 90 minutes of hard-fought action.

After considerable physical and mental exhaustion, the Norwegian’s endurance tennis declined. tried to fight but Now the student of Goran Ivanisevic had stalked his prey. Partly because they have more playing resources than a very seasoned rival, but they still need that small step to establish themselves among the sport’s greats.

A break in game two began to doom the game. The sensations were already inversely proportional. He wasn’t brimming with power, while Ruud lacked that differentiating shot and his first-serve numbers didn’t go along with it. But also there was not even the possibility of breaking the whole sleeve. Thus, the man born in Belgrade closed his sleeve gently to get even closer to the long-awaited title.

The Norwegian’s fighting spirit was maintained, even reminding Nicolás Massú of his best days. But Djokovic smelled victory, with a lot of hierarchy and more tennis arguments. That’s why he came out to put all his pressure on him. Sending with the right hand and returning with finesse, the multichampion was not going to let the opportunity pass.

The last moments of the match were rich in emotions. The general public, including world sports personalities in the stands, such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kylian Mbappe, Pierre Gasly, Tom Brady , they vibrated with the combat samples of the two tennis players. Eventually, Nole overcame his rival’s resistance in the eleventh game. There he broke the Scandinavian’s serve and, with his own, he finished his job like a master, closing yet another chapter of an era-defining legend in world tennis.