Novak Djokovic now stands alone among the tennis greats, at least in terms of Grand Slams. Djokovic beat Casper Ruud in straight sets in the finals of the 2023 French Open on Sunday to capture his record 23rd Grand Slam title.
This was Djokovic’s third Roland Garros trophy, having previously won the tournament in 2016 and 2021.
Djokovic seemed shaky at the start of the match, dropping the first three games. However, once he found his footing, there was no stopping the 36-year-old Serbian.
Djokovic won the first set in a 7-6 (1) tiebreak before easily dispatching Rudd in the next two sets (6-3 and 7-5) and making history.
“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 into preparing for this match in the best way possible to win, like any other match,” Djokovic said after the match. “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.”
However, Djokovic’s pursuit of history is not over yet. He will next try to become the first man to win all four Grand Slams in a single year since Rod Laver did it back in 1969. Djokovic was close to matching Laver during the 2021 season but surprisingly lost to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open finals after previously winning the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon.
