Here, Sport360 relives all the numbers and statistics from Sunday’s historic final.
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Novak Djokovic insists the enticing prospect of becoming only the third man to sweep a calendar Grand Slam and the first since Rod Laver in 1969 is “achievable”.
“Next to this one, I would probably say it’s Wimbledon back in 2011 and the Davis Cup (2010) – these are moments that are quite remarkable and unforgettable”.
By reaching his first final at Roland Garros, something he never imagined was possible until he found his feet on clay a year ago, Murray equalled Fred Perry once more by appearing in his 10th slam final.
PARIS (AP) – It would be hard to blame Novak Djokovic for not exactly being thrilled, as he began his ascension to tennis’ upper reaches, about having to deal with a couple of all-time greats such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
We only played twice on grass. I started well first game, and then I dropped four games. Only two men have done this, Don Budge and Rod Laver. A victory for Djoker – would also complete a career grand slam. “Winning all the Grand Slams in one year is an fantastic achievement”.
It was his fourth Grand Slam title in a row. He leads Federer 23-22, Nadal 26-23 and Murray 24-10.
But Novak Djokovic is unique, the manner in which he flipped the match on its head to clinch his fourth consecutive slam was a reminder that the rules of tennis simply do not apply to him.
In winning her first major, Muguruza used her powerful groundstrokes to keep No. 1 Williams off-balance and overcame signs of nerves in the form of nine double-faults to pull off the surprise.
65 – ATP Tour titles for Novak, who has passed Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras (64 titles).
Murray, as is his wont, displayed impressive multitasking yesterday, as in a few first-set minutes he managed to lose serve, break serve, execute a lob of such feathery delicacy that it nearly qualified as haute couture, and even berate a French TV reporter for disturbing him.
17-9 – Since the start of 2015, Djokovic has managed to win more titles (17) than matches lost (9). He defeats world no. 2 Andy Murray, who is the UK’s first male finals participant in 79 years, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
Murray, who won their previous meeting on the clay of Rome, played smash-mouth tennis en route to a 6-3 first set win, but simply could not match Djokovic’s consistent excellence as the match progressed. Djokovic was off – jitters, perhaps? – and particularly so with his forehand, which offered up seven unforced errors before Murray made one.
Djokovic now had the momentum and quickly went up 2-0.
Gustavo Kuerten, a three-time champion at Roland Garros, believes Murray has a good chance to win the title in the next few years. The door is now open for him to repeat in those tournaments and capture all four Grand Slams in a single season. At 29 yrs. and 21 days, he is the third oldest to achieve this feat (ahead of Rosewall and Laver).
Murray, who defends his title at Queen’s Club in a week’s time, will also surely welcome a bit of home support.
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Djokovic dropped 14,000 jaws inside Court Philippe Chatrier, a four-set victor over world No. 2 Andy Murray. Murray appeared to have marked the Serb’s card early in the final, but the world No. 1 moved through the gears like only he can.
