Novak Djokovic takes next step in GOAT status with French Open win over Tsitsipas

Novak Djokovic knocked out another NextGen star, Stefanos Tsitsipas, in a five-set come-from-behind thriller, 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Novak Djokovic has achieved his 19th grand slam at Roland Garros with a five-set victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas. He did this after defeating the greatest clay court player of all time, Rafael Nadal, in the semis on Friday.

He now stands one behind the other two titans of the sport, Roger Federer and the King of Clay, who sit uncomfortably with 20 grand slams. He is also likely to overtake them, and could very well do it this year, with Wimbledon and the U.S. Open the next two slams just around the corner.

https://twitter.com/rolandgarros/status/1404131815112183809

Novak Djokovic has now won all four slams at least twice, including a second Roland Garros, the only one of the Big 3 to own a Double Grand Slam. This alone will likely consider him the greatest of all time, even if he remains the least beloved of the Big 3.

French Open: How many grand slams does Novak Djokovic have?

Stefanos Tsitsipas came out the fresher of the two, riling up the French crowd for an exciting spoiler, winning the first two sets, including an exhilarating tie break that found both players falling on the orange dirt in the first. While the Greek world No. 5 continued to wear the clay on his shirt throughout the rest of the match like a badge of honor, Djokovic’s fall was way worse, prompting Tsitsipas to walk over and check on the Serb’s condition.

How the 19-time slam champion came back from a two-sets deficit is exactly why the next generation of tennis players can never win on the big stage against them. The only reason why Djokovic isn’t sitting with 20 slams already—as he likely would have won last year’s U.S. Open—is due to the bad luck of being ousted from the tournament after hitting a lineswoman. No one believes like Novak Djokovic. If Tsitsipas would have been two sets down, you know he wouldn’t have believed he could win his way back into the match.

Still, this is the first time that Novak Djokovic has come back from two sets down to win a grand slam final. Even after all this time—at age 34—he is continuing to not only define the excellence of his sport, but surpass his own expectations. And the Serb has made the case of dominating among the Big 3 by achieving monumental victories in their best tournaments: the win over Federer in the 2019 Wimbledon final, and Nole’s semifinal win over Nadal this year at the French.

The Serbian has almost cemented his place in history as the greatest male tennis player, owning the biggest achievements on all surfaces of the sport. Stefanos Tsitsipas didn’t have an answer against the Nole train once it started steamrolling past the Greek in the third set. And Federer and Nadal don’t seem to have an answer for him either, as both legends will likely continue to watch him outshine their grand slam valor.

For now, Novak Djokovic seems a formidable wall that no one can get past.

The grass court season begins next week, with warmup tournaments beginning on Monday.