Djokovic wins first French Open

Novak Djokovic on Sunday finally claimed the trophy which had evaded his gilded grasp, coming from a set down to outwit the second seed Andy Murray.

Novak Djokovic wins first Roland Garros title Pierre René-Worms

For the best part of an hour the Briton had the upper hand. He took the first set after 48 minutes despite starting disastrously, losing his opening service game to love. But Djokovic was in munificent mood. He promptly lost his own serve to make it 1-1. Murray held and went 3-1 up when Djokovic lost his service again. The Briton served out convincingly.

The match appeared to turn on Djokovic’s opening service game in the second set. Murray had a break point but Djokovic saved it with bold play at the net. Reprieved, Djokovic went after a Murray serve that was losing its accuracy and potency.

The Serb broke and even had points for a 4-0 lead. Murray disentangled himself to get on the scoreboard. But the mental damage had been done. The Serb was in the ascendance and took the set 6-1. “Even when I faced the break point at the start of the second set, I felt differently,” said Djokovic. “After losing the first set, I just kind of restarted my system and got myself to run in a positive direction. I just felt better and more comfortable on the court.”

With Djokovic into the groove on the return of serve and increasingly confident as he dictated the exchanges, it was no surprise when he broke early in the third. He was helped into the 2-1 lead when Murray’s drop volley fell into the net.
It was the first time Djokovic had led on the scoreboard since the opening game of the match. And he held for 3-1. Murray won just one more game as Djokovic took control of the final at two sets to one.

The opening of the fourth merely underscored what the third had been demonstrating – Djokovic would not be denied in this his fourth Roland Garros final. He broke Murray’s opening service game and held to 15 for a 2-0 lead. After that, it was all about the fight left in Murray. Or just how far Djokovic would show his array of skills. With Murray going for big first serves and continually missing, his second was systematically picked off by one of the game’s best returners.

Djokovic secured a double break to lead 5-2 and the smile was visible on his face as he walked towards his chair for the changeover. The same smile had dissolved from his features when he failed to serve out. Murray clung on to trail 4-5 and a clearly nervous Djokovic scraped over the line taking his third match point after three hours and three minutes. “It is one of the most important moments of my career,” Djokovic said after collecting his 12th grand slam title. “To my family, my team, my loves … thank you for tolerating things on a daily basis. Thank you for being able to manage me.”

The Serb is the eighth man to win at all four grand slam venues of the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimledon and the US Open. He is the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to claim four consecutive grand slam tournaments. “Congratulations to Novak, this is his day,” said Murray in his runners-up address to the Centre Court. “It’s phenomenal what he has done. It’s an amazing achievement winning all four grand slams one after the other. It’s so rare. It hasn’t happened for a while so everyone who is here today is extremely lucky to have been part of that history. Losing sucks, but I’m proud to have been part of something like that.”

Djokovic has another six months to emulate Laver properly. The Australian won his four majors in the same calendar year. And he did so on two occasions. “I really think everything is achievable in life,” said Djokovic of pursuing the fabled calendar grand slam. “I have this year’s Australian Open and now winning the Roland Garros trophy has given me so much happiness and fulfilment, I’m really just trying to grasp and cherish this moment. Whether or not I can reach a calendar slam, it’s still a possibility but it’s not something I’m thinking of right now. I’m just going to enjoy winning Roland Garros.”

To read more articles on Roland Garros 2016, click here.