After finishing the match in straight sets, Djokovic threw away his racket and lay on the ground. Then he got up and raised his hands and waved his fists to greet the audience.
Even at the age of 36, Djokovic's dominance in the French Open final is impressive. With his 23rd Grand Slam title in the bag, the history of tennis has once again been rewritten.
"A new history lies ahead." Djokovic said the 23rd Grand Slam was what motivates him to give it his all. After the French Open, there are still more historical records waiting to be defined by him.
In the moment of victory, Djokovic threw away his racket and lay on the ground.
Boos make him stronger
Beating top-seeded Alcaraz in the semifinals and fourth-seeded Ruud in three sets in the final, Djokovic was unstoppable.
Especially in the final that just ended, ACE goals 11 against 4, a goal rate of 73% against 64%, a winning score of 52 against 31... On Roland Garros's clay, the Serbian king once again dominated the game by an undoubted advantage.
After winning the French Open, he became the first player in the history of men's tennis to win 23 Grand Slam titles, and the first "three-lap Grand Slam" in history.
This means that for every four Grand Slam trophies, he has lifted at least three times.
Deyo kisses the trophy.
In the process of achieving the goal, everyone can see that he has no distractions. In the semi-finals, he was booed by the fans several times, but his statement was: "I don't care, it's not the first time, it's not going to be the last, I'm just going to keep winning." ”
Coming to the final, the boos were not absent - leading 4-3 in the third set, and at 40-30, Djokovic was warned by the referee for overtimed serve, and the spectators roared in the stands again.
Djokovic didn't care, and directly sent the ACE ball to win the set.
Deyo hugged the musketeer's cup tightly.
After scoring the serve, Djokovic raised his racket high, both in response to the booing crowd and in a show of his determination to win.
'I feel like every time I meet Novak, it's in the crucial big game, he's full of motivation to win and he's playing his best.' Faced with such a Djokovic who is eager to win, Ruud can only help.
"In front of him, every time he scores, it seems so difficult." The Norwegian, who reached the Grand Slam final for the third time, was also hoping for a victory, but with the 36-year-old Djokovic, it was once again a difficult task.
"I'm not the best in history"
"The record hangs over my head and the pressure has always been on my shoulders, but this is part of my life and it is already an honour to be entitled to feel it." Looking ahead to this final, Deyo did not shy away from the possibility of making history.
"It's what motivates me to play well." In the end, he did what he said.
Now, Djokovic has thrown off Federer, who holds 20 Grand Slam titles, and Nadal, who has 22 titles, to enjoy the best throne in history, and Nadal also sent congratulations on social media for the first time.
"A few years ago 23 crowns would have been considered impossible, but you do it now! Enjoy with your family and team. Nadal wrote.
There is no doubt that to achieve such an "impossible", Djokovic has paid for it. In his own words, the time he and his team spent preparing for and analyzing these important matches was "innumerable".
"When people talk about historical records, they talk about the number of Grand Slam titles and the time to be number one in the world, and in both cases, I broke records, which is really surprising. ”
Indeed, with his 23rd Grand Slam title, Djokovic is also back at world number one in the new world rankings – surpassing Graff as early as February this year, breaking the record for the number one week in the men's and women's tennis world.
But even so, he remained humble: "I don't want to say I'm the best ever." ”
"This statement is disrespectful to the great champions in the history of tennis. In the past, when tennis was very different from today, every great champion left an important mark on his own era. ”
"It's a legacy that has made this sport of global attention today."
To believe, to create
Looking back, 15 years ago, when Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title, Sampras still held a record of 14 Grand Slam titles.
In his years of tennis career, Serbian kings created an era with Federer and Nadal.
"I've been comparing myself to them." When it comes to the competition between the giants, Djokovic is candid, "Because they are the greatest opponents of my career. ”
"They made me the athlete I am today, the success I have, their contribution, the confrontation and competition between us, is one of the reasons why I am all this."
On the occasion of standing at the highest peak in history, Djokovic also sighed, "When I was only 7 years old, I dreamed of winning a Grand Slam, dreaming of becoming the number one in the world one day, and I am extremely grateful and lucky to stand here and win these achievements today." ”
"But one thing I've always been sure of – I feel empowered to decide my own destiny. I believe in my future and constantly try to turn my dreams into reality, and every cell in my body feels this belief, which is what I want to pass on to all young people. ”
"If you want a better future, pick up what you can use, believe in it, and create it."
Mbappe and Ibrahimovic also came to watch the match.
Such a mentality has indeed made him an engine that never stalls. Before the age of 30, Deyo held "only" 12 Grand Slam titles, but after the age of 30, he won 11 of the 21 Grand Slams he has played.
"He loves the sport, he loves the competition." Djokovic's enthusiasm made tennis legend Rod Laver also sigh, "His persistence is amazing, he is a great champion." ”
And the legendary road of this champion is far from the end.
"The journey is not over." When it comes to the future, Djokovic's statement is brief and powerful – Margaret Court's 24th Grand Slam title, the men's Grand Slam feat that no one has achieved since Rod Laver... In front of the Serbs, there is still history waiting to be rewritten.
"If I can still win a Grand Slam, why should I consider ending a career that has been going on for 20 years? I'm still motivated, I'm still eager to play at my best and I'm already looking forward to Wimbledon. ”