Novak Djokovic have won his maiden French Open title after defeating Andy Murray 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4, in the final at Roland Garros.
The encounter had historic consequences for both players. Djokovic was within touching distance of the elusive French Open title, having the chance to become only the third man in history to hold all four major titles at once. Only tennis legends Don Budge and Rod Laver had previously achieved the grand slam quartet. Meanwhile, Murray had the chance of becoming the first British man to win a French Open title since Fred Perry in 1935.
After getting off to a flying start by breaking Murray to love in the first game of the match, Djokovic came under a barrage of sublime shots from the world No.2. Recovering the break with an overhead lob, Murray continued his attack with a four-game winning streak. The early defensive play produced by Murray triggered a surge in Djokovic errors as the Serbian appeared unsettled in his fourth French Open final. The top seed threatened to break back, but Murray valiantly kept battling to extend the lead to 5-2.
Los finalistas del #MMOPEN arrancan con fuerza en @rolandgarros. ¡Gran emoción! https://t.co/5szqDeHzJi
— Mutua Madrid Open (@MutuaMadridOpen) 5 June 2016
Controversy erupted when Murray served for the set. A serve down the line was called out before the umpire ruled the shot in. He decided to reward the point to Murray, triggering a massive boo from the crowd. The reasoning was that the ball was called out after Djokovic returned the ball out, therefore not affecting the Serbian’s play. The incident did little to impact Murray as he clinched the opening set following error No.13 from his opponent.
Despite dropping the first set, Djokovic has come back from a set down on four previous occasions to defeat Murray. History was once again poised to repeat itself when the top seed broke for 2-0 at the start of the second set following a costly double fault from Murray. The early promise shown by Murray was over as the world No.1 dominated the remainder of the set, securing the double break for 5-1 with a backhand down the line. The injection in Djokovic’s form left Murray confused on the court as the Serbian levelled the match at one set all with a serve down the line, which was unsuccessfully returned by Murray.
Djokovic had an answer to every shot his rival threw at him. His tentative start to the match was over as the world No.1 dictated Murray around the court. A long rally resulted in Murray making a drop-shot error, handing Djokovic a lead in the match for the first time. Fatigue also contributed towards the decline in Murray’s play as his mentality was in pieces. A sublime backhand pickup gifted the top seed another double break as his French Open dream was starting to become a growing reality.
Wow! No matter where @Nole is, he prevails… #quickness @rolandgarros pic.twitter.com/qmAamyL1Vv
— Katrina Adams (@katadams68) 5 June 2016
Clinching the two sets lead following a Murray error, Djokovic was coasting to his maiden French Open title against the low-spirited British No.1.
The damage inflicted by Djokovic on a tiring Murray was devastating. Capitalising on the erratic state of Murray’s game, the fourth set saw a display of outstanding tennis from the top seed, who broke for the sixth time in the match for 2-0. A forehand winner down the line secured a further break to move Djokovic to one game away from the title.
A late blip in the match resulted in Murray valiantly battling back to retrieve one of the breaks. Failing to serve the match out on his first attempt, Djokovic had to contend with an unexpected resurgent Murray on his second. A ball returned out rewarded Djokovic two chances to win the title. Squandering both opportunities with errors, it was third time lucky when a return into the net from Murray booked Djokovic’s place in tennis history.
A dream come true
Losing in three previous French Open finals, Djokovic has finally triumphed at the tournament. It is a fairy-tale outcome for the 29-year-old, who had been strangled by expectation. He had won 11 previous grand slam titles, however, many had argued that he couldn’t be elevated to the list of all-time greats until he succeeded at Roland Garros. Djokovic is only the fourth man in history to win a specific grand slam title after losing in the final on three previous occasions.
“It is truly a very special moment, maybe the best in my career,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview.
“The most important thing for me today was to feel what I felt for the first time here at Roland Garros. I wrote the heart on the court as Guga (Gustavo Kuerten) did, he gave me permission.” the new champion joked.
The new champion also paid tribute to Murray, a player who he has now defeated 24 times out of their 34 encounters.
“It was a pleasure to play against you once more, I’m sure I will be seeing you with the big trophies in the future,” Djokovic said to Murray.
Djokovic is eighth and the second oldest man is history is achieve a career grand slam. The oldest was Andrew Agassi, who was just 24 days older when he won the quartet.
The world No.1 walks away from the tournament with 2000 ATP ranking points and €2,000,000 in prize money.
