Novak Djokovic won his 19th Grand Slam championship on Sunday at Roland Garros in Paris, coming back from a two-set deficit to defeat 5th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the French Open 2021 men’s singles final. Djokovic won the match 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, defeating the spirited Grand Slam final rookie.
History made
Djokovic became the first man in the Open Era to win all four majors twice and to win a Grand Slam after coming back from two sets down both times.
After winning the French Open in 2016, Djokovic now has nine Australian Open championships, five Wimbledon championships, and three US Open victories to his credit. The 34-year-old is only the third man in history to win all four Slams on multiple times, joining Rod Laver in 1969.
Fulfilling Victory
Djokovic said, “Of course, I am thrilled and I’m very proud of this achievement. I think part of the history of the sport that I love with all my heart is always something that is very inspiring and very fulfilling for me.”
“I couldn’t be happier and more satisfied with this kind of scenario in the last 48 hours. Probably ranks at the top three all-time achievements and experiences that I had in my professional tennis career.”
“Going through a four-and-a-half battle with Rafa on his court, then bouncing back after not practicing yesterday, just coming in today with as much as recharged batteries and energy regained to fight another battle of four-and-a-half hours against Tsitsipas, who is playing in his first Grand Slam final.”
Everything is Possible
“Everything is possible. I mean, definitely in my case I can say that what I’ve been through in my career, in my life, this journey has been terrific so far.”
“I’ve achieved some things that a lot of people thought it would be not possible for me to achieve.”
“Everything is possible, and I did put myself in a good position to go for the Golden Slam. But I was in this position in 2016 as well. It ended up in a third-round loss in Wimbledon. This year we have only two weeks between the first round of Wimbledon and the finals here, which is not ideal.”
“You don’t really have anyone to rely on. Of course, you get team support, but it’s all up to you. So if you are not able to crawl your way out from certain situations like I had today, from two sets down, that’s it, the match is gone.”
“That’s why I feel like the mental work, the mental training, is as equally important as the physical training. I put a lot of time into that, as well. I’m really glad that it pays off.”
