Djokovic wins his twenty-third big against Ruud and consecrates himself in the kingdom of Nadal

Summoned by the skies on a New York night two summers ago, Novak Djokovic did not then respond to the call of fate, because even the greatest can be swallowed up by responsibility and fear at the suggestive wink of eternity.. That was the first bullet he had available to place his name above Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the dazzling career to peer into infinity alone, which was still a matter of three, and jump the border of 20. The first to break it would be the Spanish, with his triumph in Melbourne in 2022. Nole's appointment with Daniil Medvedev at the United States Open held a promise of even greater historical proportion: to emulate Rod Laver and Donald Budge, the only two tennis players who had managed to square the circle by winning all four Grand titles in the same year. Slam, something that the Australian certified twice.

If in the frustrated attempt he was left at the feet of a hard court specialist like Medvedev, Casper Ruud was waiting for him in Paris, an accomplished craftsman on brick dust, the man with the most matches won on the surface since 2020, 87, plus titles, nine, and more final, 12, until the great call of a humid and hot Sunday in June, with the Philippe-Chatrier fleetingly covered by the retractable roof before the inconclusive threat of that rain that begins to acquire an unusual character also in a city once shelter of melancholic souls.

Federer has been ruled out of the long sustained sprint, with Nadal stranded since the beginning of the year due to an injury that seriously compromises a future to which he himself has set an expiration date, the old Djokovic, the most successful to lift the Musketeers Cup, at 36 years old and 20 days later, he attended the event rearmed by his victory in the semifinals against Carlos Alcaraz, the most fascinating phenomenon that this sport has enjoyed since the so-called Big Three began to fracture: Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, recently written in the hierarchical order established.

Week 378 in front of the ranking

Because this time Djokovic managed to subdue his ghosts and overcome Ruud's tenacious resistance in the first set, showing himself as he is, with the knife clenched between his teeth and a firm hand to prevail 7-6 (1), 6.3 and 7 -5, in three hours and 13 minutes and certify in Paris, in the kingdom of his most famous opponent, the twenty-third Grand Slam title. Ten Australian Opens, seven Wimbledon, three US Open and three Roland Garros. The incomparable baggage of the Belgrade player, the only one, moreover, who has managed to win at least three times each of the big ones, the same one who returns this Monday to the top of the ladder to start his week 378 as number 1 of the world.

Neatness, rigor and method, a product appraised at Rafael Nadal's academy, Ruud, a tennis player more for coaches than captivating for the general public, starred in a hopeful start. He left 3-0 and fought until bowing after an hour and 21 minutes in the tiebreaker, territory in which his opponent moves like few others: he has won 15 of the 19 disputed in this course.

He has won sixteen of those 23 majors since 2015, with a superb change of pace thanks to which he clearly left Nadal behind, who has only won eight, leaving Federer at three.. What Nole has achieved is even more valuable if we consider his absences in four Grand Slam tournaments in the last three years due to non-sports reasons.. The only one of the greats that was not played due to the pandemic in 2020 was Wimbledon, where it has seven titles and has not lost a game since withdrawing due to injury against Tomas Berdych in the 2017 quarterfinals.. That same 2020 he was disqualified when he faced Pablo Carreño in the round of 16 of the United States Open for unfortunately hitting a linesman with a ball.. In 2022 he did not play the Australian Open, where he is a ten-time champion, due to his refusal to get vaccinated against covid, the same reason he resigned from New York.

Eager to witness and complicit in a pivotal moment in tennis history, the French public stood up for Djokovic, willing to canonize him despite some of his reprehensible attitudes.. The shouts of “Nole, Nole, Nole!” They came to his rescue in delicate moments and thundered when the moment of culmination arrived.. Ruud had accused the blow of the first set and would no longer offer samples of the success and combativeness of the first set. Another sad afternoon for the brave Norwegian player, who lost his third major final, second in a row in Paris. A year ago he was overwhelmed by the 14-time tournament champion. Months later he met Alcaraz in New York. And this Sunday, June 11, 2023, he played the secondary role again on a capital date whose true scope will only be known with the opinion of time.