2023 French Open Recap: Djokovic Stakes His Claim As Greatest Ever

Novak Djokovic defeated Casper Ruud in the French Open final to capture his record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam singles title. When Ruud sailed a crosscourt forehand long on match point, Djokovic collapsed under the weight of the history of the moment and fell to the ground in pure elation. With the momentous win, Djokovic reclaimed the no. 1 singles ranking, broke the all-time men’s major titles record, became the only man to win all four grand slams three times, and became the oldest French Open champion.

Despite the straight-sets scoreline, the first hour and a half of play was an even affair. Ruud came out of the gates determined to write a different script after seeming to concede last year’s final soon after it began to his friend and training partner Rafael Nadal. The clay court specialist jumped to a quick 3-0 start before Djokovic found his footing and forced the first set into a tiebreak, where he entered his mode of hyper-concentration as he so often does, eliminating unforced errors from the stat line. After losing only one point in the tiebreak, Djokovic carried the lead to the finish line.

Ruud kept the match competitive, though, and fought until the last ball, giving the crown in Phillipe Chattrier their money’s worth for over three hours, a feat he failed to accomplish one year prior. The steady Norwegian reached the championship by quietly advancing through the bottom half of the draw that featured Medvedev, Rune, and Sinner. Ruud generated little media buzz coming into Paris after a poor start to the year and a lackluster clay season for a player of his caliber that has been so successful on the red dirt. Ruud brought his A-game when it counted, though, and played textbook tennis to reach his third grand slam final in 13 months, one more than his fellow 24-year-old colleague Stefanos Tsistipas.

Ruud is quickly stealing the spotlight from the likes of Zverev, Tsitsipas, and Rublev, who seemed destined to take the reins of the sport well before Ruud broke onto the scene. In the semifinals, Ruud dismantled Zverev, who had his hopes on the trophy after finally regaining his form after suffering a gruesome ankle injury against Rafael Nadal during last year’s nail-biting semifinal affair. Zverev could not find the same level against Ruud, continuing to struggle against top 8 ranked players at slams. However, he is proud of his comeback and will find many positives in his play over the past two weeks.

Many will attest that Djokovic won the event on Friday morning when he outlasted the top-seeded Spaniard, not Rafael Nadal, but his alleged predecessor, Carlos Alcaraz. The semifinal clash was hailed as the most anticipated match of the season. Alcaraz and Djokovic have traded the no.1 ranking back and forth ever since Alcaraz captured his first grand slam title at the US Open. However, due to injuries on both sides and Djokovic’s vaccination status, Friday marked only the second time this year that the two most dominant players on tour competed in the same draw and the first time they met on opposite ends of the net.

Alcaraz came in as the Vegas favorite, and the talk of the tournament was the young Spaniard’s outlandish court coverage, contagious smile on the court, and explosive forehands. However, as the commentators on Tennis Channel noted, the easiest predictor of the future is history, and Djokovic had won his last 19 of 20 semifinal matches dating back to 2015. The first two sets lived up to the hype.

Djokovic forced Alcaraz to come up with some jaw-dropping shots, including a shot early in the second set that even Djokovic threw his hands up out of praise. However, in the best-of-five-sets format, a player has to be a full-length motion picture, not a human highlight reel. Following the script of his career, Djokovic slingshotted Alcaraz’s balls to all angles of the court, breaking down the 20-year-old physically and mentally. Whether from nerves, fatigue, or physiological unknowns, Alcaraz began cramping in the third set, and Djokovic showed no mercy, letting up only two more games in the match.

Alcaraz fell victim to the only attribute he doesn’t possess: experience. On his path to 23 grand slams, Djokovic mastered the art of handling the ebbs and flows of a high-pressure match, knowing when to emotionally and physically dial it up and conversely reserve some fuel for the crucial points.

Through meditation, yoga, and visualization, Djokovic has learned to religiously control his mind and energy in the literal sense, as he is known to have meditated at Buddhist temples between matches at Wimbledon. The 36-year-old has dedicated every aspect of his lifestyle to ensure his body and mind operate at peak functionality, and the results speak for themself.

Djokovic perplexed the tennis world this tournament by wearing a magnet on his chest-later determined to be a Tao Patch that uses magnetic fields to lower inflammation. Djokovic joked that he was trying to impersonate Iron Man, but with each new career milestone, it seems like he truly is a superhero-or a villain depending on your player allegiance.

With his defeat of 20-year-old Alcaraz and 24-year-old Rune, The Serbian champion defended the old guard against the new fittingly with Tom Brady in his box during the final.

Additionally, Djokovic may have outbattled the two other greats of his generation once and for all. After chasing Federer and Nadal’s grand slam record for nearly his entire career, Djokovic now stands alone atop the record board with 23 slams, moving ahead of Nadal at the tournament where a statue stands in his honor. Djokovic previously surpassed Federer’s grand slam record on Wimbledon’s Centre Court. The irony speaks for itself, as Djokovic has yearned to steal the spotlight from his two rivals and share some of the love Federer and Nadal have received on those special courts.

With Federer retired and Nadal recently undergoing hip surgery to complete one farewell season on tour in the best-case scenario, Djokovic is now competing only against himself and time. After nearly three generations of proclaimed next-gen players have seen their opportunities come and go, amazingly, perhaps only Rune, Sinner, and Alcaraz will reach their primes in a post-Big Three Era. Until then, Djokovic is seemingly untouchable.

With the first two grand slams under his belt, Djokovic has his hopes set on the calendar slam. All eyes will be on him this summer to see if he can do it the second time around. I like his chances.