Novak Djokovic said winning a record 23rd men’s singles Grand Slam title at the French Open after beating Norway’s Casper Ruud 7-6(1) 6-3 7-5 on Sunday was special given that it was always his toughest one to win.

The Serbian has now won the most Grand Slams of any male player and is the only one to have won each of the four – Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open – at least three times.

But of the 23 Grand Slams, only three have come at the French Open with rival Rafael Nadal, who has 22 majors, dominating on clay with 14 wins in Paris.

Djokovic has also won ten times in Australia and three times at the U.S. Open while triumphing seven times at Wimbledon.

“It is no coincidence that I won the 23rd Grand Slam here in Paris because this tournament was really in my entire career the toughest to win,” Djokovic, who has played in the Paris final seven times, said to a cheering crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier.

“A lot of emotions here on this court, also off the court,” he said, after lifting the trophy aloft.

“Thanks one more time for a special atmosphere, a marvellous one. I am very happy to share this special moment of my career with you in this special stadium.”

The 36-year-old won the title without Nadal in the tournament, with the Spaniard missing the Grand Slam due to an injury and surgery that will sideline him for the rest of the year.

Djokovic, who also eclipsed Nadal as the oldest champion in Paris after a tough fortnight, has now won 21 consecutive Grand Slam tournament matches.

He won last year’s Wimbledon, missed the U.S. Open and won in Australia in January before Sunday’s triumph in Paris.

“I am being fortunate in my life to win 23 Grand Slams. It is an incredible feeling,” he said.

“Whatever you are pursuing, tennis or anything else, I was a seven-year-old dreaming I would win Wimbledon and become No. 1 one day.

“One thing is for sure I felt I had the power to create my own destiny. I felt it with every cell in my body.”Djokovic can now extend his lead in Grand Slam victories with the season moving over to grass and Wimbledon, where he will bid for an eighth title

-Reuters

Japan’s Miyu Kato and Indonesia’s Aldila Sutjiadi were disqualified from the French Open after Kato struck a ball down the court between points, hitting a ball girl, during their women’s doubles third-round match on Sunday.

Umpire Alexandre Juge gave Kato a warning before Czech Marie Bouzkova and Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo, on the other side of the net, asked for their opponents to be disqualified.

“No, no, let me explain to you. She (Kato) didn’t do it on purpose, she (the ball girl) didn’t get injured,” Juge said.

“She didn’t do it on purpose? She’s crying,” Sorribes Tormo said.

“And she has blood,” Bouzkova added, prompting the umpire to go to see the ball girl, who was sobbing.

After speaking to the girl, the umpire went back up to his chair and announced the end of the match with the disqualification of Kato and Sutjiadi.

Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo were leading 7-6(1) 1-3 at the time.

-Reuters

 Factbox on Spain’s 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafa Nadal, who will miss the French Open for the first time since his 2005 debut at the claycourt major due to injury.

Age: 36

Country: Spain

ATP ranking: 14 (Highest ranking: 1)

Grand Slam titles – 22

* Australian Open (2009, 2022)

* French Open (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022)

* Wimbledon (2008, 2010)

* U.S. Open (2010, 2013, 2017, 2019)

French Open record

* Nadal made his debut at the French Open in 2005 and has a 112-3 win-loss record at Roland Garros.

* He was knocked out in the fourth round in 2009 by Robin Soderling, while he lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2015 quarter-finals and 2021 semi-finals.

* In 2016, Nadal withdrew before his third round match due to a wrist injury.

EARLY LIFE

– Born in Manacor, Spain to Sebastian Nadal and Ana Maria Parera.

– His uncle Miguel Angel Nadal was a former soccer player who represented Barcelona, RCD Mallorca and Spain.

– Introduced to tennis by another uncle, Toni, who encouraged his naturally right-handed nephew to play left-handed as it would give him an advantage.

– Turned professional in 2001 and won the junior Davis Cup with Spain in 2002. Won the ATP newcomer of the year in 2003.

CAREER TO DATE

– Won his first ATP singles title in Poland in 2004.

– Defeated world number two Andy Roddick to guide Spain to the Davis Cup title in 2004. Won the tournament again in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019.

– Won the French Open on debut in 2005 and a year later beat Roger Federer in the final.

– In 2007, he became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win a hat-trick of Roland Garros titles.

– Won his first Wimbledon title in 2008 with a five-set victory over Roger Federer, a match dubbed the ‘the greatest tennis match in history’.

– Won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in singles. Clinched doubles gold with Marc Lopez at the 2016 Rio Games.

– Suffered his first French Open loss in 2009 to Sweden’s Robin Soderling in the fourth round.

– Regained the title the following year, beating Soderling in the final. Also won Wimbledon for a second time in 2010 before claiming his first U.S. Open title, becoming the seventh man to win all four Grand Slams.

– Matched Borg’s record of six French Open titles with his 2011 victory and overtook the Swede in 2012.

– Became the first man with eight titles at the same Grand Slam when he beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the 2013 final at Roland Garros. He also won the U.S. Open that year.

– Became the first man to win five successive French Open titles in 2014.

– Won his second Grand Slam of 2017 at Flushing Meadows after a 10th French Open title in June.

– Claimed an 11th French Open title and his 17th major with victory over Dominic Thiem in 2018.

– Defeated Thiem again in the 2019 final to seal his 12th Roland Garros title. He also won a fourth U.S. Open crown by beating Russian Daniil Medvedev in the final.

– Matched Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam titles by defeating Djokovic in the French Open final in 2020.

– Got his 1,000th victory on the ATP Tour at the 2020 Paris Masters, becoming the fourth man in the professional era to achieve it.

– Suffered only his third-ever loss at Roland Garros in 2021 when he was beaten by Djokovic in the semi-finals.

– Missed chunks of the 2021 season, including Wimbledon, the Olympics and the U.S. Open, due to a long-standing foot injury.

– Defeated Medvedev in the 2022 Australian Open final to win a men’s record 21st Grand Slam title.

– Beat Norway’s Ruud to extend his record with his 22nd Grand Slam title and 14th French Open crown.

– Knocked out of the Wimbledon semi-finals and U.S. Open last-16 in 2022.

– In 2023, he fails to successfully defend his Australian Open crown where Djokovic triumphed and tied his record for 22 Grand Slam titles.

– Announces on Thursday that he will miss this year’s French Open after failing to regain full fitness from a hip injury suffered at the Australian Open in January,

-Reuters