TOPS
Historical. The undisputed king of tennis. With this new coronation, Novak Djokovic has become the most successful male player in the history of this sport. A deliverance for the Serb who comes to win for the third time Porte d’Auteuil and become the first man to have won each Grand Slam at least three times. He is now ahead of Rafael Nadal and his 22 titles, and poses as legend number 1.
In a bitterly contested end of the first set, Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud offered us two points of anthology in a row. After an impeccable drop-lob sequence on the line, the Norwegian then offered a moment of intense pleasure to the public at Philippe-Chatrier. As the exchange dragged on with powerful shots from the baseline, the game was unbridled and turned into sensationalism. With a remarkable tweener, a gesture he never realizes, Casper Ruud surprised the Serb and even ended up winning the point. Grand!
The stat is gargantuan: Novak Djokovic had 55 points in 6 tie-breaks in this 2023 edition of Roland-Garros and had no unforced errors. Arrived in the decisive game, the native of Belgrade transforms and becomes unplayable. Apart from facing Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round, he conceded only 4 points in 4 tie-breaks. Casper Ruud, who was more than level in the first set, was shamelessly swept away by the Serb (7 points to 1). A fatal boost, which put an end to the Norwegian’s inclinations.
FLOPS
Unrecognizable. We knew Novak Djokovic capable of complicated starts, like against Russian Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals, but his start to the match was terribly worrying. Imprecise like his two failed smashes, his many approximations allowed an impeccable Casper Ruud on his side to race in the lead in the first set. Led 3-0 then 4-1, number 3 did not let go and gradually got back in the saddle.
It’s starting to become a bad habit. Impressively consistent, Casper Ruud is increasingly reaching the Grand Slam final. Present at this level three times in the last 5 majors (Roland-Garros 2022 and 2023, US Open 2022), the Norwegian proves that he deserves his place. Only, after being swept away by Rafael Nadal three sets to zero, by Carlos Alcaraz three sets to one, the 24-year-old player was no match for Novak Djokovic and lost again (7-6, 6-3, 7-5).
