 "French Open 2023: Novak Djokovic pushes the envelope further with 23rd Grand Slam")
In Monte Carlo, as it drizzled, Novak Djokovic struggled to find his way around Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti. Having been out of action for a month - due to USA’s rules on unvaccinated foreign travellers - Djokovic was rusty. The cold, rainy conditions helped Musetti more than they did Djokovic. Once they reappeared after a break as rain got heavier, Musetti ran away with things to come from behind. A week later, at Banja Luka, the slower conditions meant Dusan Lajovic got plenty of time to get to Djokovic’s groundstrokes. In the all-Serbian battle in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lajovic triumphed in straight sets. An elbow injury aggravated Djokovic’s troubles in preparation for the French Open. A major he had won twice and approached in the knowledge that Rafael Nadal, 14-time winner in Paris, might well have to skip it with a hip injury. As far as glorious opportunities go, this was it. With things clearly not going well, the 36-year-old decided to give Madrid Open a miss.
RUTHLESS RUNE 🤯@holgerrune2003 knocks 6-time Champion Novak Djokovic out of Rome! #IBI23 pic.twitter.com/8c74E8lIs0
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 17, 2023
In Rome, Djokovic produced better tennis to reach the quarter-finals before going down to Holger Rune. Once again, rain played a role in keeping the players off the court. The three set triumph meant the Dane, a French Open title contender, had picked up back-to-back wins over Djokovic. Based on form coming into the French Open, things didn’t look promising for Novak Djokovic. A week before the Roland Garros draw , Nadal's withdrawal provided the motivation that Djokovic needed to go for it all. Read | Rafael Nadal hails Novak Djokovic's 'amazing achievement' Nadal and Djokovic were locked on 22 Grand Slam titles after the Serb won the Australian Open in January. The Spaniard’s last major title came at French Open last year when Djokovic was sitting on 20, tied with Roger Federer. Since then, he had won Wimbledon and Australian Open to bridge the gap. Meanwhile, Nadal tried, and failed, his hardest to be fit to play the tournament that mattered most. The draw looked straightforward until quarter-finals where he was projected to meet Andrey Rublev (and got Karen Khachanov), Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals (which happened) and Daniil Medvedev in the final (got Casper Ruud instead).
🧡#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/k2OpLzblL7
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 11, 2023
And that is how it worked out. Khachanov provided a fight, led by a set, before fizzling out. Carlos Alcaraz vs Djokovic was the big billing. For two sets it was the match that everyone expected it to be - great shot-making, cracking rallies, sensational physicality on show. But then Alcaraz suffered from cramps which denied it from becoming a spectacle. In the final, Casper Ruud tried to reverse his 0-4 head-to-head against Djokovic. The Norwegian, in complete reversal of last year’s final, started brilliantly and raced to a 4-1 lead. Then, the Djokovic we all know showed up. The Djokovic who trailed Musetti and Stefanos Tsitsipas by two-sets-to-love during the 2021 French Open and won. A Djokovic that you can count out and defeated at your own peril - especially in a five-setter.
🏆🙏🏼2️⃣3️⃣❤️🇫🇷 #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/KOxvOq3d18
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) June 11, 2023
The Serb would win three straight games, almost four, before Ruud would once again surge ahead. But the tide had shifted. The confidence that Ruud had and Djokovic didn’t, especially on the forehand to the deep, heavy bouncing balls, had evaporated. In the tiebreak, Djokovic did what he had been doing in crunch situations throughout the fortnight. He stepped up and, excuse my French here, kicked a**. The Serb won all six of the tiebreaks he played in Paris, winning 42 of 55 points, striking 15 winners and making 0 (yes, zero!) unforced errors. It was the shot in the arm that Djokovic needed and the move that deflated Ruud. Juan Martin del Potro, who twice beat Djokovic at the Olympics, tweeted, “Nole played the whole set badly and won. Casper played well throughout the set and very badly in the tiebreak and didn’t win a point [Ruud did win a point].” But the point remained. Read | Charismatic and controversial: Novak Djokovic, crowned undisputed king of tennis The second and third sets went by as near formality with Ruud giving in to what it’s like facing the Big 3. As Musetti and Tsitsipas found out two years ago. Three hours and 13 minutes after play started, Ruud mishit a forehand and saw Djokovic collapse into a heap near the baseline. He then made his way through the crowd to hug and celebrate with his family, and Tom Brady, in the player’s box. While making his way down, he would embrace Gustavo Kuerten - a man he had just equalled with three French Open titles . Moments later, the Serb, at 36, would don a jacket emblazoned with the number 23.
A story unlike any other
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 11, 2023
The quest for 2️⃣3️⃣@AustralianOpen | @rolandgarros | @Wimbledon | @usopen | @atptour pic.twitter.com/uqqFGYSEGU
A 23rd Grand Slam title which sees him edge Rafael Nadal and Steffi Graf (22) and go level with Serena Williams in the list of most Grand Slam titles in the Open Era. With his third Roland Garros title, Djokovic also eclipsed Nadal as the oldest Roland Garros champion at 36 years and 20 days. With the title, he’s now won all four Grand Slam events at least three times - a feat no other man has achieved. As icing on the cake, he returned to the top of the rankings . Through it all, he remembered to go back to where it all started - on the clay courts of Belgrade. Amid civil strife, Novak and his family lived through NATO bombings between March and June 1999. A 12-year-old Djokovic had friends on the tennis court and as they sang “Happy Birthday”, F-117s flew overhead. Amid celebrations of birth, came in potential doom of death. Twenty four years on, that effort to push Serbian forces out of Kosovo remains rooted in Djokovic’s mind. After his first round win, Djokovic wrote, “Kosovo is heart of Serbia” on the camera lens. And, in the post match press conference, he credited the years of tiebreaks on clay courts in Serbia as a possible reason for the stellar record.
Alcaraz seems to be cramping in the third set 👀
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) June 9, 2023
Djokovic came to check on him ❤️#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/SmJ73P233h
The challenging upbringing has been crucial in Djokovic’s career and it was telling this fortnight too. Bar Alcaraz and Ruud, for the first set, no one really troubled Djokovic. Except Alcaraz, for two sets, no one asked Novak to bring his A-game either. The 20-year-old Spaniard was pushed into going for it all - mentally and physically - because Djokovic has the ability to do just that. As Andy Roddick put it in 2021, “First he takes your feet, then he takes your soul.” Does age even matter?
"I was overwhelmed with wonderful emotions. I am very, very happy and very proud of it." 🥹#RolandGarros @DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/7Ue5UDLXg4
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 11, 2023
In 1972, Ken Rosewall won the Australian Open to become the oldest Grand Slam champion at 37 years, 2 months and 1 day under sweltering 100-plus degrees Fahrenheit. With titles at 1971 Australian Open and 1970 US Open, the Australian was pushing the limits of the sport. Andres Gimeno, by winning the 1972 French Open title at 34 years and 9 months, was up there with him. But they were the anomalies. John Newcombe, who won the 1971 Wimbledon title for his fourth major, was 30 years old. Stan Smith, who had won the 1971 US Open, was 25. Ilie Nastase, winner of 1972 US Open, was 26 at the time. Djokovic, Nadal and Federer defied the age barrier that existed with retirements and now with major trophies. The ‘Big 3’ find a mention seven times in the top-10 list of oldest Grand Slam winners - Federer thrice and Djokovic, Nadal twice. “I am aware that even though I don’t like to think about the age or age is just a number, it sounds like a cliché, but I really feel age is just a number in my case,” Djokovic said with a smile on Sunday. “Truth of the matter is, and reality is, my body is responding differently, so I have to deal with more things physically than I have had maybe in the past. Maybe five to 10 years ago I was recovering much quicker or just didn’t feel as much pain in the body and the beating that I’m feeling today.” “At the end of the day, you will walk victorious through the finish line, and that’s what we have done,” he added. And Novak Djokovic, at 36, crossed that finish line with aplomb. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
