Kelly: Serb has never beat himself in a loss

Even after the match had ended, Djokovic was still getting inside Tsitsipas’s head. He begged off answering a question in French so that he could speak directly to his opponent in English.

“I can relate to what you’re going through …” Djokovic said.

Can he really? Because it’s pretty close to impossible to imagine Djokovic spitting the bit after taking a two-sets-to-none lead at a Grand Slam championship. Only Federer (11) has lost more major finals than Djokovic (10). But in all those losses, Djokovic never once beat himself.

Tsitsipas now has. One supposes Sunday’s collapse could be the making of him. But just as often, it goes the other way.

Andy Roddick lost a similar sort of final to Federer at Wimbledon in 2009. Though Roddick was only 26 at the time, that was essentially the end of his career. That disappointment sank him.

So you could say that on Sunday, Djokovic won twice – cementing his own legend, while also putting an extreme frightener on a player he is likely to see at this stage again some day soon.

This French Open felt like the beginning of a change in tennis people have spent years talking about. Federer and Serena Williams fell back just a little more to the pack. Nadal was vulnerable in a place he once owned. Younger players such as Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev took more baby steps forward.

But astride it all, Djokovic now stands unchallenged. The only question going forward is whether he wants to end up one of the best in history, or all alone on top of that mountain. Watching Djokovic on Sunday, you got the feeling that for this guy, that isn’t a challenge. It’s a choice.