Djokovic makes history with 19th Grand Slam title in epic French Open final
It's all over: Novak Djokovic with Stefanos Tsitsipas
Novak Djokovic claimed a 19th Grand Slam title and became the first man in 52 years to win all four majors twice when he came from two sets down to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in a gripping French Open final on Sunday.
The world number one triumphed 6-7 (6/8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in four hours and 11 minutes over the Greek 22-year-old who was playing in his first Slam final.
It was a second French Open crown for Djokovic after his 2016 victory and adds to his nine Australian Opens, five Wimbledon titles and three at the US Open.
Djokovic had also spent more than four hours on court on Friday to knock out defending champion Nadal.
"I have played almost nine hours over the last 48 hours against two great champions, it was really tough physically over the last three days, but I trusted in my capabilities and knew I could do it."
Djokovic now has 84 career titles in total while Sunday's win pushed him to the brink of $150 million in prize money.
On top of that, Djokovic also wants the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo to complete the first ever Golden Grand Slam by a male player.
Tsitsipas, meanwhile, said he was inspired to follow in Djokovic's footsteps.
"Novak has shown what a great champion he is and I hope one day to have half of what he has achieved.
Tsitsipas survived a nervy opening service game, having to save two break points.
But suddenly he faced a set point in the 10th game courtesy of an ugly shank but saved it after a 26-shot rally.
Fired up by a time violation, Djokovic broke for the first time for a 6-5 lead but was unable to serve out the opener as a series of razor-sharp returns put Tsitsipas back on level terms.
He had to save a set point before claiming the opener after 70 minutes when Djokovic fired a forehand wide.
He had to recover from two sets down to beat Musetti and lost the opener against 13-time champion Nadal on Friday.
The Greek edged ahead 5-2 and pocketed the second set with his eighth ace of the contest.
Tsitsipas then called the trainer to treat a back problem which also gave him the opportunity to change the clay-covered shirt he'd worn since a first set tumble.
As the shadows swept across Court Philippe Chatrier, Tsitsipas' mood also darkened as he slipped 3-1 down in the decider.
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