Rod Laver was the last man to hold all four major titles simultaneously, in 1969, when he earned a calendar-year Grand Slam. “It hasn’t happened for an extremely long time, and it’s going to take a long time to happen again”.
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He becomes only the eighth man in history to have won all four of the sport’s major singles prizes – and could yet match Laver’s achievement of winning all four in a calendar year. Among men, only Roger Federer (with 17), Rafael Nadal (14) and Pete Sampras (14) have more.
Now Djokovic was the domineering one, yanking an increasingly exhausted Murray this way and that with just the right shot at just the right moment, creating a 24-6 edge in winners over the middle two sets.
Andy Murray has won the first set of the French Open final against Novak Djokovic. After losing to Wawrinka, Djokovic said: “He just found the solutions on the court”. And again when he skipped from sideline to baseline to receive in the opening game – and, louder still, when Djokovic broke Murray to start.
Both Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray can lay down some significant career milestones by winning the men’s final underway shortly at the French Open.
The victory is Djokovic’s 12th Grand Slam win but first on clay and when Murray netted a regulation forehand at the end of the fourth set, he sank to his back in celebration.
What ever the reason, the loud and shamelessly partisan crowd rose to celebrate when the Scot hit long to hand their favourite a break to love in the first game of the match.
A long fortnight appeared to finally catch up with Murray, who played five-set matches in the opening two rounds and spent nearly five hours longer on court than Djokovic.
Murray served next. Under pressure at 15-30, he came into the net behind a drop shot but Djokovic was quickly onto it and passed Murray to bring up two break points.
As omens come, it was a seriously good one, for Murray had never lost a match at Roland Garros having won the opening set.
Second seed Murray played superbly to win the first set but could not convert a break point early in the second, and Djokovic took control to win in three hours.
Novak Djokovic is struggling with his serve and has managed to win just 25 percent of the points played on his second serve so far.
A French Open champion at long last, and the first man in almost a half-century to win four consecutive major championships, Novak Djokovic grabbed a racket and etched a heart in the very red clay that had given him such heartache in the past.
Djokovic swapped between French and English as he applauded Murray for an “amazing tournament” and thanked him for his kind words.
France hasn’t had much to cheer about of late in other competitions at Roland Garros, either.
Aside from the first game, Murray was ideal in that set as he tried to become Britain’s first male champion in Paris since 1935.
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Djokovic, with the Paris crowd loudly on his side for the first time in four final appearances, broke for 2-1 in the third set which became 4-1 off a sublime running, backhand, cross-court drop-shot. But then when you get there, obviously you want to win.
