Grand Slam King Djokovic wins 23rd crown by conquering Ruud at French Open

PARIS (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic won a record 23rd Grand Slam singles title at the French Open on Sunday to stand alone at the summit of men’s tennis with a 7-6(1) 6-3 7-5 victory over fourth seed Casper Ruud in the final.

The 36-year-old Serb drew level with Rafa Nadal on 22 by capturing the Australian Open title in January and he leapfrogged the injured King of Clay in his own backyard to claim his third Roland Garros title after triumphs in 2016 and 2021.

On a historic day on Court Philippe Chatrier, Djokovic won his 21st consecutive Grand Slam tournament match to become the only man to bag each of the four majors – Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open – at least three times.

He also eclipsed Nadal as the oldest champion in Paris after a testing fortnight where he shrugged off a heated political row after his comments on Kosovo and saw off the challenge of ailing top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals.

Reuters