The main match in the Roland Garros men’s bracket already attracts all the attention of the audience, but this time Djokovic’s duel with Ruud was of historical significance.

Breaking record after record, Novak could perpetuate his name with another achievement – 23 victories at Grand Slam tournaments. It seemed that the Serb had an ideal opponent for such accomplishments.

However, Ruud showed an incredible level of tennis. Against the backdrop of such a struggle, Novak’s greatness is noticeably even stronger.

Absolute favorite

When Nadal announced that he would not perform at his favorite clay Grand Slam, the experts predictably gave the title of the main favorite in Paris to Djokovic. Novak, who had already won this season in Australia, was preparing for Roland Garros with one single goal – to win for the 23rd time at the most prestigious competitions in the tennis world.

The Serb does not hide the fact that records are the driving force behind his sports career, so he simply dreams of going down in history. Before the final match in Paris, in fact, no one could offer insurmountable resistance to him. Yes, the Serb gave the set to Khachanov and Alcaraz, but in both cases his game was still an order of magnitude stronger than his opponents. Although in the match with the Spaniard, the most important moment was the injury of Carlos.

Novak Djokovic / Photo: © REUTERS / Lisi Niesner

In his 34th Grand Slam final on Sunday, Djokovic faced young Norwegian Kasper Ruud with two finals in his luggage. Both times the 24-year-old native of Oslo lost. Moreover, in personal meetings against Novak, Ruud did not manage to take a single set. A catastrophic background to prevent the Serb from becoming the one and only.

Powerful start

Meeting on the court named after Philip Shatrier traditionally started difficult for the Serb. Novak in almost every match during this tournament was drawn into the game for a long time, but then he turned the situation around. So it was in the quarterfinals against Khachanov, so it happened now.

Ruud made a break already on the opponent’s first serve and took the lead 3-0, but this meant nothing at all for the Serb. Novak began to prove it already from the next draw, when he took his pitch to zero. Well, in the seventh game he made a return break and restored parity.

The Norwegian, of course, understood with whom he was playing, but he could not oppose Novak’s composure in the first set. With the score 4:4 on Ruud Djokovic’s serve, he put his foot inaccurately during the draw and received a microdamage. The audience gasped.

Novak Djokovic / Photo: © Clive Brunskill / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

But, as we know, the harder it is for a Serb, the better for him. So in the same game, he earned a break point, but did not convert it. Then he slipped again on the Parisian soil, fell spectacularly and still allowed Ruud to take his serve.

The first game came to a tie-break, where the Serb was again flawless – 7:6 (7:1). The set lasted an hour and a half.

Greatest

It cannot be said that the Norwegian played worse. Kasper was excellent, but Djokovic still won key games. And this is exactly the indicator that distinguishes a brilliant champion.

In the second set, Novak made a break immediately, although the final draw of the second game was completely under the control of Ruud. But the 36-year-old Djokovic found a moment and caught his opponent on a mistake – 2:0. The situation was repeated by analogy with the beginning of the match, only in a mirror order. Now Novak led 3-0.

However, Ruud failed to repeat the feat of the opponent and return. Moreover, Novak, with the score 5:2, received two set points on Kasper’s serve, but Ruud managed to win four draws in a row and kept the intrigue in the second set. True, only for one game. Novak very confidently took his serve, and with it the set – 6:3.

In the third game, Djokovic seemed to slow down a bit. Visually, it seemed that he did not give himself the opportunity to play 100 percent, waiting for something. The Serb was looking for his chance and found it with the score 5:5. Kasper understood how important it was to maintain concentration during each draw, but in the 11th game, on his serve, he could not do anything with his opponent.

Novak received three break points and took the game on the first try – 6:5. The then 22-time Grand Slam winner came out to serve for the match. An epochal moment in the history of tennis.

The audience froze, the tension is colossal. It seems that Ruud also felt the power of the moment and did not interfere with Novak. Djokovic took a game, a set, a match and the title of the greatest tennis player of all time without too much sentimentality.