A new chapter in the history books of Grand Slam tennis will be written on Sunday, as Novak Djokovic takes on Andy Murray in the 2016 French Open final.
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“Well, look”, the 29-year-old Djokovic said, “now I put myself in a position in which I wanted to be, of course, ever since last year’s final”.
Murray reached the title match in Paris for the first time with a comprehensive 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 semi-final win over the Swiss title-holder who was on a 12-match winning streak in the tournament.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic will be standing in his way as he reached his fourth final in Paris with a 6-2 6-1 6-4 demolition of Austria’s Dominic Thiem to move one match closer to a career Grand Slam as well as holding all four majors at the same time.
La Coupe des Mousquetaires – the tournament’s famous prize – has so far eluded the player with six Australian Open trophies, three Wimbledons and two US Opens under his belt.
Williams has been trying since past year to pull level on the 22 Grand Slam singles titles of Steffi Graf but has failed to win her last two majors in NY and Melbourne.
Despite trailing 23-10 in career meetings with Djokovic, the Scot enjoyed a morale-boosting win on clay in the Rome final last month.
Murray, the first British man to reach a Roland Garros final since 1937, hopes to add the French Open to his victories at the US Open and Wimbledon.
Murray said before the game: “It’s obviously a very big match for both of us”. I played a really good match and think my game is in the right place. Djokovic smirked. Some of the tennis experts commented that the absence of two legends, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, paved the way for Djokovic, who is chasing for his fourth consecutive grand slam title. It’s a very tough event to win. There is a lot riding on the match for both of us.
“We have had some really big battles in the slams before on all the other surfaces. I think mentally when we step on the court, sure, maybe to some extent, some small percentage, but he’s playing in great form”.
The unknown factor is how both men, but particularly Djokovic, will deal with the occasion and what is at stake.
The men’s final: Murray v Djokovic.
“We only played once here before”.
On his way to do that, only one match is in front of him after he beat Stan Wawrinka in Friday’s semi-final encounter, 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-2.
But the difference will be cancelled out somewhat by Djokovic having had to play four times in a four days between Tuesday and Friday while Murray had a day off between his matches. I spent a lot of time on court at the beginning of the event.
As usual, Williams was tight-lipped about her situation: “I have had some issues, but it will be survival of who can do the best”, she said of the final.
Murray, who lost in five sets to Djokovic in last year’s semi-finals, also came off worse in straight sets against Nadal in 2011 and 2014. In 2013 Murray ended a 77-year wait for a British man to win Wimbledon when he beat Djokovic 6-4, 7-5 and 6-4 in the final. It probably means there will be long rallies, you have to be patient in these conditions.
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“I was hoping after the long fourth round that I’m going to start playing better as the tournament progresses, and that’s what’s happening now”.
