JAKARTA - Serbian tennis player, Novak Djokovic, won his third legendary tennis tournament, French Open. He beat Norwegian Nepali Ruud 7-6 (7/1), 6-3, 7-5 to claim the 23rd Grand Slam title.
This score made him break the record 22 Grand Slam titles he holds with Rafael Nadal.
"It's a great feeling to win 23 Grand Slam titles. I'm so grateful and blessed to stand here with so many extraordinary achievements," Djokovic said, as broadcast by AFP.
Victory for the third time in Paris, after 2016 and 2021, added 10 titles at the Australian Open, seven at Wimbledon, and three at the US Open.
Only Margaret Court and Serena Williams in women's tennis won 23 Grand Slam titles. The achievement of 24 Grand Slam titles of all time is now Djokovic's target at Wimbledon next month.
With the French Open victory, Djokovic will reclaim world number one on Monday and start Week 388 at the top.
The French Open final caught the attention of sports stars, including footballers Kylian Mbappe and Zlatan Ibrahimovic who sat side by side in the VIP area, as reported via Antara.
Djokovic played in his seventh French Open final and won a 4-0 meeting career record over Ruud, without losing a set.
However, the fourth ranked world from Norway was calmer in this meeting. He took a 2-0 lead at the start of the game.
Ruud, runner-up at the French Open 2022, took a 3-0 and 4-1 lead before Djokovic took back the break in the seventh game.
Djokovic missed the break point in the ninth game, falling into the red clay field as he caught Ruud's shot. He then drove through the tiebreak, sealing the opening set with foreplay.
Although 12 years younger than Djokovic, Ruud, who also lost in the US Open 2022 final to Carlos Alcaraz, suddenly looked exhausted.
Djokovic broke service to lead 2-0 in the second set, and although Ruud saved two sets of points in the eighth game, the Serbian was getting closer to his dream of breaking records.
Ruud saved the break point in the third game of the third set to stay in his footsteps after being left behind.
However, Djokovic broke at 6-5, sealing his place in history when Ruud's punch went wide.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
