French Open: Novak Djokovic celebrates historic record triumph

As of 7:57 p.m | Reading time: 5 minutes

In the moment of great triumph, when it is actually done, Novak Djokovic sinks to the floor of the Philippe Chatrier Court, stretches his arms out and enjoys the cheers of the crowd. The spectators have risen from their seats and celebrate him, now the most successful tennis player in history, frenetically. Because this success is historic: Djokovic not only defeated the Norwegian Casper Ruud 7: 6 (7: 1), 6: 3, 7: 5 in the Paris final and won the French Open for the third time in his career, but also himself set the sole record for Grand Slam titles in men’s tennis.

His path then quickly leads him to his box: Djokovic kissed his wife Jelena, hugged his children and celebrated with his team. At 6.43 p.m. he finally raises the Coupe des Mousquetaires as a trophy, his country’s anthem sounds – Djokovic looks up at the sky with a smile and sings along. It then begins in French and is aimed at the audience. “Thank you for this special atmosphere. I’m happy to share this moment in my career with you,” he says. “It’s incredible that I’ve won 23 Grand Slam titles.” Turning to his family and his team, Djokovic says: “You know what we’ve been through. You know how difficult it can be. Thank you for your patience and tolerance. I’ve been unbearable at times over the past few days.”

Before the final of the classic clay court in Paris, the 36-year-old Serb was still tied with Rafael Nadal in the all-time list of the best, both had collected 22 Grand Slam titles. Now Djokovic has passed the Spaniard with triumph number 23. And he congratulated just a few seconds later on Twitter. “Congratulations on this great achievement @DjokerNole,” Nadal wrote. “23 is a number that would have been unthinkable a few years ago, and you nailed it! Enjoy it with your family and the team!” Among the women, only Margaret Court (24) from Australia has won one of the four major tournaments more often.

“I can’t describe how good you are”

With football icon Tom Brady and football greats like Kylian Mbappé and Zlatan Ibrahimovic as fans in the stands, Djokovic triumphed in a high-class final. France’s tennis favorite Yannick Noah, boxing legend Mike Tyson and actor Hugh Grant rounded out the cast of stars. At first they saw a gripping duel.

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The 24-year-old Ruud ended Alexander Zverev’s dream of his first Grand Slam title in the semifinals. But now Djokovic fought back after a difficult start and proved his extra class and nerves of steel in the tie-break of the first set. After that, he played out the experience in his 34th Grand Slam final. “Another day you made tennis history. You can’t describe how good you are,” said final opponent Ruud. “I’m glad to be the first to congratulate you from this stage.”

And Djokovic? After thanking the audience, he addressed his next words to the Norwegian, showing him great respect: “You are one of the best people on the tour, everyone respects you, everyone likes you,” he said. “It’s important for me to say. Because in these times it is important that there is someone like you and that you say so. Your team, your father, your parents, your manager – you are great and treated me and my team with a lot of respect. I wish you all the best, that you win against everyone,” Djokovic paused for a moment, “except against me.”

At the end of his speech, the Serb really wants to say something. “To all young people out there,” Djokovic begins his emotional message, “whatever you want to achieve, whether in tennis or elsewhere: As a seven-year-old, I dreamed of winning Wimbledon and becoming first in the world. I am beyond grateful and blessed to stand here now with so many accomplishments. I feel I had the power to take charge of my own destiny. I try to imagine all of this, not just believe it, but really feel it. I want to tell you: Live in the present, forget what was in the past, the future is ahead of you. And if you want a better future, create it for yourself.”

Djokovic is number one in the world again

Djokovic set two more records this Sunday: He is now the oldest winner in the long history of the French Open and replaces Nadal, who was also 36 in his 14th Paris victory last year. This year the Spaniard missed out injured. In addition, Djokovic is now the first man to have won every Grand Slam tournament three times and is retaking the top position in the world rankings from Carlos Alcaraz.

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Djokovic and Alcaraz, 16 years his junior, had a close duel in the semifinals of the French Open, after the 1-1 set equalization more than two hours had passed. But then the Spaniard was plagued by cramps. In the end, Djokovic won the tennis drama in four sets – and now also the final. For him it will be his 388th week as the world number one – he already has that record.