Globe2Go, the digital newspaper replica of The Globe and Mail

SIMPLY FANTASTIC

CATHAL KELLY OPINION

Novak Djokovic battles back to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas, win French Open and 19th Grand Slam title

Shorn of tennis, it was getting hard to take the Serb seriously, but he still has the ability to defeat opponents with both his racquet and his mind

About a year ago, Novak Djokovic’s professional mission appeared to be turning himself into a punchline. The early days of the pandemic created a vacuum of celebrity news. Djokovic began filling it with odd takes about his own brand of voodoo medicine. He barnstormed an off-the-books mini-tournament that turned into a pan-European plague vector. He came out as vaccine-hesitant before that was a term.

Shorn of tennis, it was getting hard to take Djokovic seriously.

But real pros understand that the public will forgive you for anything, as long as you win.

Djokovic won the French Open on Sunday. It was his 19th Grand Slam, which sounds a bit boring. But this one was his War and Peace. This was Djokovic working on a grand scale.

On Friday night, he played what was likely the greatest semifinal match in tennis history against Rafael Nadal. By Sunday afternoon, he looked like a man in need of rest. Djokovic came out so flat in the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas he was two-dimensional. His forehands had no pop. His posture sagged. He was dragging himself around the court, waving at gettable balls.

Even his baseball cap looked too small, as though he’d forgotten his own and had to borrow someone else’s.

Tsitsipas was quickly up two sets to none. Time to start writing the breaking-news alerts. This was going to be a lot bigger than the 22-year-old Greek winning his first major. This was shaping up as a stake in the heart of the Big Four era.

“Is this a moment or is this a movement?” NBC analyst Mary Carillo said, pulling double-duty as a headline writer.

But then one of those small shifts that turn tennis matches inside-out. In the fourth game of the third set, Tsitsipas was up 40-15 on his own serve. Easy peasy.

It was that moment that Djokovic, now two hours late, decided to show up. Five break opportunities later, the last one taken, and that was it.

The match was still hours from finishing, but you could see that it was headed inexorably in just one direction.

Still, Tsitsipas tried all the tricks. He took a medical timeout before the start of the fourth set. That didn’t work. He yelled at himself and at his box. That didn’t work. He started trashing his racquets. That never worked for John McEnroe and it doesn’t work now.

If there’s any solace for him, it’s that there’ s nothing he could have done. Once Djokovic’s onboard tennis CPU has been switched on, he becomes a backboard with arms.

Once it was done – 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 – the Serb didn’t bother celebrating much. Tsitsipas retreated to his chair and covered his head with a towel.

There was the usual interminable post-final “celebration” that blights all tennis tournaments. Why was Djokovic interviewed not once, not twice, but three times? Why were his French answers to French questions asked in France translated into English? Why does Tsitsipas have to speak? Particularly on this Sunday, it’s cruel and unusual.

By the end of it, Djokovic had slipped into his Jerry-Lewis-in-Hour-42-of-the-Telethon routine (“I’d like to say hello to all the brothers and sisters in Greece …”) and Tsitsipas looked like he was considering making a break for it through the stands.

But no amount of schmaltz can obscure what was achieved here.

Djokovic was already the best tennis player in the world. Now you’d have to concede that he is probably the best professional athlete, full stop.

At 34, he trails Nadal and Roger Federer by one Grand Slam – 19 to 20. Based on current form, he’ll have that taken care of by September.

When people talk about exactly what it is that makes Djokovic special, they tend to focus on his physical preparation. He only eats fruit that has fallen off trees, rather than been picked (or something like that). His idea of an afternoon off is lying in a sub-zero hyperbaric chamber. He does not appear to sweat, regardless of the temperature.

But whenever the moment comes to write his professional obit, it’s Djokovic’s will that should get the attention.

He is one of those rare individuals whose self-belief is total and unwavering. Every player experiences doubt, but you would be hard pressed to think of a single other who feels it less than Djokovic.

He also has the power to weaponize this self-belief by projecting it outward. Djokovic didn’t beat Tsitsipas on Sunday with his racquet. He did it with his mind. He convinced the better player on the day, one who was decisively in the lead, that he was going to lose.

He is one of those rare individuals whose self-belief is total and unwavering. Every player experiences doubt, but you would be hard pressed to think of a single other who feels it less than Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece to win the French Open on Sunday, coming back from two sets down for his second stunning triumph in less than 48 hours.

The five-set victory, 6-7 (8-6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, lasted more than four hours and capped a stirring tournament for Djokovic, who beat the 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in a thrilling semi-final Friday night.

It was the second Grand Slam triumph of the year for Djokovic, who won the Australian Open in February, and the 19th of his career, just one behind Nadal and Roger Federer, who are tied for the career lead among men with 20.

Djokovic, 34, has said ending his career with more Grand Slam titles than anyone in history is one of the main motivations that keeps him playing tennis. He is now halfway to a Grand Slam – winning all four major tennis tournaments in a single year. He is the defending champion at Wimbledon, which begins in two weeks. Best not to bet against him.

Djokovic has won Wimbledon five times, and he has won 12 Grand Slam titles on hard courts, including three at the U.S. Open, which will take place in New York at the end of the summer.

The title was Djokovic’s second at the French Open. He is now the only male player of the modern era to have won every Grand Slam tournament twice.

FRONT PAGE

en-ca

2021-06-14T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-14T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://globe2go.pressreader.com/article/282054804979674

Globe and Mail