Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a forehand in his Men's Singles Final match against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece during Day Fifteen of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros on June 13, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a forehand in his Men's Singles Final match against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece during Day Fifteen of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros on June 13, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Novak Djokovic has claimed his second French Open title after coming from behind to defeat Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas at Roland Garros.
Djokovic was two sets down in the match before managing to elevate his game in the last three sets. He won the match 6-7 (6-8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to claim his 19th Grand Slam title. It was a heart-breaking loss for Tsitsipas, who was dominating the match till the start of the third set.
"After I lost the second set and went out to change and came back on the court, I just felt different,” Djokovic said after beating Musetti. “I was a different player.”
Djokovic managed to spring back to life in the third. He figured out how to handle Tsitsipas's serve and shifted his game slightly from pure power to guile. By the fourth, he had Tsitsipas shaking his head and muttering to himself in Greek. Djokovic, facing a pro-Tsitsipas crowd, relentlessly ran him back and forth across the court and finished him off with delicate drop shots.
With his 19th slam title, Djokovic is now just one away from matching the record open-era tally of 20, currently shared by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
(With input from agencies)