Novak Djokovic has won the 23rd Grand Slam title of his career at Roland Garros, breaking the record for most Grand Slam titles in men’s tennis history.
Djokovic, 36, began nervously, trailing 3-0 and 4-2 in the first set, with the weight of the occasion seemingly heavy on his shoulders, his feet unusually off balance. But as so often in his career, Djokovic dug himself out of trouble and then pulled away in familiar style to win 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5.
He is the oldest man to win the French Open, and his third Roland Garros crown moves him ahead of Rafael Nadal to 23 Grand Slams, level with Serena Williams and one behind all-time leader Margaret Court, whose career spanned the amateur and professional eras.
MOST CAREER GRAND SLAM SINGLES TITLES (MEN)
23: Novak Djokovic
22: Rafael Nadal
20: Roger Federer
14: Pete Sampras
12: Roy Emerson
11: Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg
10: Bill Tilden
“I’m really delighted to be here to share this special moment in my career with you,” Djokovic told the crowd in his post-match interview.
“A coincidence that I’ve won my 23rd Grand Slam here in Paris, this tournament has always been the hardest to win for me so I’m very emotional right now, it means a lot to me.
“I’ve experienced a lot of things on the court and off the court. I’m really honoured to be here on this special court. Thanks for your energy today and throughout the tournament.”
Novak Djokovic is now halfway to the coveted calendar-year Grand Slam. Oh, and Monday, he will return to the No 1 ranking on the ATP Tour.
World No. 1 and top seed Iga Swiatek was taken to three sets by the very impressive Karolina Muchova in the Roland-Garros final on Saturday, but the Pole emerged triumphant once again after surviving an emotional rollercoaster of a match. Muchova threw everything she had at Swiatek, but the Pole withstood the challenge to pick up her fourth Grand Slam singles title.
Iga Swiatek led by a set and 3-0 before Karolina Muchova stormed back and led 2-0 in the deciding set. But Swiatek showed her resolve, fighting back again and finally clinching victory when Muchova double-faulted to give Swiatek a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 win after 2 hours, 46 minutes of enthralling clay-court tennis.
A year after squandering three match points in the final, fourth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Austin Krajicek of the United States won the men’s doubles title at the French Open on Saturday by beating unseeded Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-4, 6-1.
It was the 38-year-old Dodig’s third major title in men’s doubles, after winning here in 2015 and at the Australian Open in 2021 – with different partners. But it was a first Grand Slam trophy for the 32-year-old Krajicek, a former top-100 ranked singles player.
Unseeded Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan and Wang Xinyu of China won the French Open women’s doubles title Sunday after beating 10th-seeded Leylah Fernandez of Canada and Taylor Townsend of the United States 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1.
Playing in just their second tournament after teaming up in Strasbourg, Hsieh and Wang capped off a stunning fortnight that saw them upset five seeded teams to win their first doubles title of the season.
Teaming for the first time at Roland Garros, Miyu Kato and Tim Puetz completed their dream run in style on Thursday when they captured the mixed doubles title.
In a tight final, the Japanese-German team clawed past Bianca Andreescu and Michael Venus 4-6, 6-4, 10-6 to claim the crown at the clay-court major after one hour and 35 minutes.