Novak Djokovic Wins His Historic 23rd Grand Slam at the French Open

Novak Djokovic made history in Paris today, surpassing his record-tying 22 Grand Slam titles (which he shared with Rafael Nadal) to become the winningest men’s singles player ever. Before his grueling finals match against Casper Ruud of Norway—which Djokovic claimed 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a little more than three hours—Djokovic boasted 10 titles at the Australian open, seven titles at Wimbledon, three at the US Open, and two at the French; now, he’s the first man to have won at least three championships at each major, and, at 36, the oldest person to win a singles title at Roland-Garros.

The 24-year-old Ruud, who came into today’s match ranked number four in the world, played his first-ever finals only last year, finishing second at both the 2022 French Open (where he was felled by Nadal) and the 2022 US Open (where Carlos Alcaraz was the victor). Fans of both Ruud’s and Djokovic’s were very vocal, often slowing play down as the chair umpire begged the crowd to be quiet. 

Despite a promising start for the Norwegian in the first set, where an early break briefly gave him a 4-1 lead, Djokovic came roaring back in the latter half, erasing Ruud’s break to reach 3-4 after a gasp-inducing rally. By the time they reached the tiebreak, which Djokovic won handily, 7-1, the first set had stretched on for 81 minutes. 

The second set was rather tougher going for Ruud. After a 22-shot rally, Djokovic broke Ruud’s first service game and then kept the momentum going, reaching a 4-1 lead just 25 minutes into the set and finally claiming it 6-2.