Novak Djokovic became the first man in 52 years to win all four Grand Slam titles twice when he came from two sets down against Stefanos Tsitsipas in an epic comeback in the French Open final on Sunday.
The world No 1 triumphed 6-7 (6/8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 over the Greek 22-year-old and fifth seed who was playing in his first Slam final. For the second time in the tournament, Djokovic came back from two sets down after defeating Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the round of 16.
French Open 2021 men’s singles final as it happened
Djokovic secured a 19th Slam trophy with his victory and move just one behind the record of 20 jointly held by Nadal and Federer. It was a second French Open crown for Djokovic after his 2016 victory and adds to his nine Australian Opens, five Wimbledon titles and three at the US Open.
Victory for the Serb took him alongside Roy Emerson and Rod Laver as the only men to capture the four majors more than once.
It’s an achievement that has proved even beyond the reach of Rafael Nadal (one Australian Open) and Federer (one French Open).
It is so rare an accomplishment that it hasn’t happened since 1969 when Laver completed his second calendar Grand Slam.
It was an electric atmosphere,” said Djokovic after the four-hour 11-minute final.
“It’s a dream. It’s difficult to win the title against a great player. It was a difficult three days physically and mentally.”
How the match panned out
Djokovic had also spent more than four hours on court on Friday to knock out defending champion Nadal.
Tsitsipas survived a nervy opening service game, having to save two break points.
Djokovic, by contrast, didn’t concede a point in his first three service games.
But suddenly he faced a set point in the 10th game courtesy of an ugly shank but saved it after a 26-shot rally. Djokovic broke for the first time for a 6-5 lead but was unable to serve out the opener as a series of razor-sharp returns put Tsitsipas back on level terms.
In a dramatic tiebreaker, Tsitsipas saw a 4/0 and 5/2 lead disappear.
He had to save a set point before claiming the opener after 70 minutes when Djokovic fired a forehand wide.
Dropping the opening set at this year’s Roland Garros was familiar territory for Djokovic.
He had to recover from two sets down to beat Musetti in the last 16 and lost the opener against Nadal on Friday.
Tsitsipas, 12 years the world number one’s junior, broke again in the first game of the second set as the 2016 champion looked increasingly weary in the 30-degree afternoon heat.
The Greek edged ahead 5-2 and pocketed the second set with his eighth ace of the contest.
But the top seed wasn’t finished, breaking in the fourth game of the third set to cut the deficit.
Tsitsipas then called the trainer to treat a back problem which also gave him the opportunity to change the clay-covered shirt he’d worn since a first set tumble.
Thirty minutes later, it was two sets apiece after Djokovic secured a double break.
As the shadows swept across Court Philippe Chatrier, Tsitsipas’ game deserted him as he slipped 3-1 down in the decider.
As the clock ticked past four hours, he fought off two more break points in the seventh game but Djokovic was not to be denied his latest slice of history taking the glory on his second championship point.
With AFP inputs
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