Novak Djokovic wins his 23rd Grand Slam title by beating Casper Ruud in the French Open final

Novak Djokovic made wide for years that this was his goal. What drove him. What inspired him. The biggest titles from his sport's biggest stages were Djokovic's main purpose and present helium yet stands unsocial — up of Rafael Nadal, up of Roger Federer, up of each antheral who ever has swung a racket.

If Djokovic could hold this agelong to clasp this record, helium surely could hold for the half-hour oregon truthful it took to straighten retired his strokes in the French Open final. And so, aft a spot of a shaky commencement successful thick, humid aerial and nether foreboding charcoal clouds Sunday, helium imposed himself. The hostile astatine Court Philippe Chatrier, Casper Ruud, ne'er truly stood a superior accidental aft that.

Djokovic earned his men's-record 23rd Grand Slam singles championship, breaking a necktie with Nadal and moving 3 successful beforehand of the retired Federer, with a 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 triumph implicit Ruud that truly was not successful uncertainty for astir of its 3 hours, 13 minutes.

Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia, puts this 1 alongside the French Open titles helium earned successful 2016 and 2021, making him the lone antheral with astatine slightest 3 from each large event. He has won 10 trophies astatine the Australian Open, 7 astatine Wimbledon and 3 astatine the U.S. Open.

Also worthy noting: Djokovic is again halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam — winning each 4 majors successful 1 play — thing nary antheral has achieved since Rod Laver successful 1969. Djokovic came adjacent to pulling disconnected that feat successful 2021, erstwhile helium won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon and made it each the mode to the rubric lucifer astatine the U.S. Open earlier losing to Daniil Medvedev.

Djokovic volition resume that pursuit astatine Wimbledon, which begins connected the writer of the All England Club connected July 3.

He has present clutched the trophy astatine 11 of the past 20 Slams, a singular tally made adjacent much truthful erstwhile considering that helium did not enactment successful 2 majors during that span due to the fact that helium did not get vaccinated against COVID-19. Djokovic was deported from Australia successful January 2021 earlier the Australian Open, and helium was not allowed to alert to the United States up of past year's U.S. Open nether a regularisation that has since been lifted.

Getting to 23 not lone sets the people for men, but it besides lets Djokovic adjacent Serena Williams, who wrapped up her vocation past year, for the astir by anyone successful the Open era, which began successful 1968. Margaret Court won immoderate of her all-time grounds of 24 Slam trophies successful the amateur era.

At 20 days past his 36th birthday, Djokovic is the oldest singles champion astatine Roland Garros, considered the astir grueling of the majors due to the fact that of the lengthy, grinding points required by the reddish clay, which is slower than the writer oregon hard courts underfoot elsewhere.

Nadal's 22nd major arrived successful Paris 2 days aft helium turned 36. He has been sidelined since January by a hep wounded and had arthroscopic country connected June 2.

As if each of that weren't enough, Djokovic's triumph connected Sunday besides means helium volition instrumentality to No. 1 successful the ATP rankings connected Monday, replacing Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic already has spent much weeks astatine the apical spot than immoderate subordinate — antheral oregon pistillate — since the inception of computerized tennis rankings a half-century ago.

It was Djokovic who eliminated Alcaraz successful the semifinals connected Thursday, wearing him down implicit 2 thrilling sets until the 20-year-old Spaniard's assemblage cramped up badly. Alcaraz continued to play, but the scores of the past 2 sets of the four-set lucifer told the story: 6-1, 6-1.

This was the 3rd Slam last successful the past 5 events for Ruud, a 24-year-old from Norway, but helium is present 0-3. He mislaid to Nadal astatine the French Open a twelvemonth agone and to Alcaraz astatine the U.S. Open past September.