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With his 23rd major title, Novak Djokovic is number 1 again. His place on the tennis throne is more secure than ever.
For a long time, Novak Djokovic has always been the one on the tennis scene who was chasing after the older greats Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal: when he celebrated his first Grand Slam victory in 2008, Federer already had 12 of them to his credit, and Nadal was dominating the French Open with three titles already ahead.
Federer was the first to reach the magic mark of 20 majors, Nadal was first with numbers 21 and 22 respectively. But now the Serb has turned the clock around and for the first time alone has taken the top position in what is perhaps the most important of all statistics. At 36 years and 20 days, he is the oldest French Open winner ever. And whether the mark of 23 Grand Slam successes can still be topped is highly questionable.
Nadal among the first to congratulate
“Congratulations on this great achievement. 23 is a number you couldn’t even think of a few years ago and you made it,” Nadal tweeted shortly after the end of the final. The Spanish clay-court king, who is currently struggling with a stubborn hip flexor injury and is looking to retire in 2024, has little chance of hitting back.
It’s no coincidence that I won my 23rd title here. That was always the Grand Slam tournament that was the hardest for me to win.
Djokovic showed once again at this tournament what makes him so strong. In the semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz, who is 16 years his junior, many favored the Spaniard. But the more insurmountable the resistance seems, the more Djokovic blossoms. He wasn’t suffering from cramps, but Alcaraz, who was obviously overwhelmed with the big task.
“It’s no coincidence that I won my 23rd title here. That was always the Grand Slam tournament that was the hardest for me to win. I’m very proud and happy,” said Djokovic after winning the final against Casper Ruud.
Today is an era in which Djokovic will remain the best for a very long time.
When it counted, Djokovic did what he almost always does. In his sixth tie-break in this year’s tournament, the “Djoker” prevailed for the sixth time – and did not make a single unforced error in any of these quick decisions.
The calendar slam beckons
“From a sporting point of view, he is simply the best there has ever been. Of course, if he keeps playing like this, he can still win more Grand Slam tournaments. But today an era has dawned in which Djokovic will remain the best for a long time, »said SRF expert Michel Kratochvil.
In a few weeks, Djokovic will be the defending champion at Wimbledon. Another victory would then also be the third of four steps to the calendar Grand Slam, which Djokovic missed in the final of the US Open in 2021. No man has done it since Rod Laver in 1969.
In the women’s category, only Margaret Court (24) has won one of the four major tournaments more often. The fact that Djokovic is now measuring himself against the Australian shows the historical significance of his milestone in Paris: Court last triumphed at the US Open almost 50 years ago.