Novak Djokovic tops Stefanos Tsitsipas in five at French Open for 19th major

PARIS —  Talented and tenacious as they come, Novak Djokovic was not about to concede a thing after dropping the first two sets of the French Open final against his younger, fresher foe, Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Djokovic looked diminished and depleted at the outset Sunday. By the end, he was at his imperious best.

The top-seeded Djokovic came all the way back to beat the fifth-seeded Tsitsipas 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 for his second championship at Roland Garros and 19th Grand Slam title overall.

“I’m very proud, very happy. I don’t want to stop there,” said Djokovic, who spread his arms, then tapped his chest and crouched to touch the red clay at Court Philippe Chatrier after ending the match with a leaping volley. “Hopefully I can keep on [winning] here in Roland Garros, at least one or two more times.”

Novak Djokovic won his 19th major title Sunday at the 2021 French Open.

(Tim Hubbard / Los Angeles Times)

As things stand, Djokovic is just one major trophy away from tying the men’s record of 20 shared by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and will get his first chance to pull even with his rivals at Wimbledon, which starts in two weeks.

Djokovic became one of only three men — alongside Rod Laver and Roy Emerson — to have won each major tournament at least twice. And now, as the reigning champion at the Australian Open and French Open, Djokovic can set his sights on another rare achievement: He is halfway to joining Laver (1962 and 1969) and Don Budge (1938) as the only men with a calendar-year Grand Slam.

The 34-year-old Djokovic eliminated 13-time French Open champion Nadal — a challenge the Serb likened to scaling Mt. Everest — in a semifinal that lasted more than four hours Friday night.

That was only Nadal’s third career loss in 108 matches at the clay-court major tournament.

He also had defeated Nadal in Paris in 2015 before losing that year’s final, and it appeared as if the same fate was waiting Sunday.

Djokovic looked drained early, and the 22-year-old Tsitsipas had the upper hand for two sets.

“It was not easy for me,“ Djokovic said, “both physically and mentally.”

Eventually, though, he got his best-in-the-game returning on track and served so flawlessly down the stretch that he did not face a single break point over the last three sets.

That enabled him to complete his sixth career comeback from two sets down — and second of the past week.

Indeed, the International Tennis Federation said Djokovic — who trailed 19-year-old Lorenzo Musetti two sets to none in the fourth round — is the first man in the professional era to win a Grand Slam tournament after twice facing a 2-0 deficit in sets.

Experience could have been a factor, too.

This was the first major final for Tsitsipas and the 29th for Djokovic, who also won the French Open in 2016, to go with nine titles at the Australian Open, five at Wimbledon and three at the U.S. Open.

Of just as much, if not more, significance to the ultimate outcome: Djokovic is 35-10 in five-setters — including a men’s-record 32 wins in Grand Slam matches of that length — while Tsitsipas is merely 5-5.

“I’d like to thank the Greek fans, and my team, who are constantly behind me, for my dreams. This is a long journey,“ said Tsitsipas, who was trying to become the first tennis player from Greece to win a major singles title.

On a sunny, breezy afternoon, with the temperature approaching 80 degrees Fahrenheit and attendance limited to 5,000, about a third of the stadium capacity, because of COVID-19 restrictions, Tsitsipas needed just about 100 minutes to grab his big lead.

The footing on clay can be tricky, and both men took tumbles in the first set.

Djokovic’s ended with him prone on the sideline after a head-first fall near the wooden net post. Tsitsipas slipped near the baseline during the tiebreaker, smearing his white shirt and purple shorts with the rust-colored surface.

While Djokovic switched tops soon after his spill, Tsitsipas kept his dirty clothes on — as if he viewed the mess as a badge of honor — until after losing the third set, when he requested a visit from a trainer to help him stretch on the sideline.

By then, the momentum had changed. And Tsitsipas never could recover, mainly because he never made any headway in Djokovic’s service games.

The first set was tight as can be: Tsitsipas won 43 points, Djokovic 42.

Novak Djokovic won his 19th Grand Slam title on Sunday at the French Open. He is just one title shy of tying Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for most.

(Tim Hubbard / Los Angeles Times)

Seeming surprisingly shaken, Djokovic began the second set with a double-fault and a swinging forehand volley that landed way long, then got broken with a wild forehand miss.

Tsitsipas broke again to lead 5-2 in that set, and Djokovic pressed a white towel against his face at the ensuing changeover.

Trying to cool off? Perhaps. Trying to reset himself? Probably.

After the second set, Djokovic headed off for one of each player’s two allotted locker room breaks. The match was never quite the same.

A supreme returner and imposer of his will, Djokovic accrued early breaks of serve in each of the third, fourth and fifth sets.

Shadows were spreading across the court as the sun descended in the early evening and, though Djokovic complained to chair umpire Aurelie Tourte that the artificial lights were switched on, he shined when it mattered the most.

This was another match that lasted more than four hours, and Djokovic was up to the task again.

“The atmosphere was amazing against Rafa and today against Stefanos,” Djokovic said. “I will definitely remember these last 48 hours for the rest of my life.”