French Open 2023: Novak Djokovic Beats Casper Ruud To Clinch Record-Extending 23rd Grand Slam Title
French Open 2023: With his win, Djokovic will now regain the world number 1 ranking for the record 388th week.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic beat Norway's Casper Ruud in the straight sets to win a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam at the French Open 2023 in Paris on Sunday (June 11). Djokovic won the final 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 at Roland Garros and as a result will now regain his world number 1 ranking for the record 388th week. This happens to be Djokovic's third Roland Garros title, having emerged as the champions in Paris twice prior to his victory on Sunday. Djokovic was world number 3 heading into this competition but will now be back at the numero uno position and is almost guaranteed to divide the tennis fans on the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) debate having added another major title to his long list of achievements.
As far as Ruud is concerned, the 24-year-old did give his senior opponent a tough fight forcing the first set into a decider. However, Djokovic proved to be too difficult an opponent for him at the Roland Garros as the Serb showed his class yet again on a big day and did not give an inch to his opponent, showing his desperation for a win. Djokovic now has at least 3 Grand Slam wins in each of the four Grand Slams, a fantastic achievement that speaks volume of his consistency and passion to perform year after year.
Only Margaret Court- across men's and women's tennis- now has more Grand Slam titles than Djokovic with 24 titles to her name. However, with the way he has been going, it seems like it is only a matter of time before he will equal that record and maybe even surpass it. At 36, Djokovic seems to be getting better unlike the two names that he has often been compared with Rafeal Nadal and Roger Federer. Djokovic is often regarded as one of the fastest movers across the tennis court and has now become the oldest French Open men's singles champion in history aged 36 years and 20 days.