ŠAMPIONI SVETA / WORLD CHAMPIONS
T he world’s top tennis player, Novak Đoković, has won his second Grand Slam title in Par- is, and the 19th of his fantastic career, by de- feating Stefanos Tsitsipas. And he achieved something that no one has ever done before in the process, by becoming the only player in the histo- ry of this sport to have won each of the four Grand Slam tournaments at least twice in the Open era. He has won the Australian Open a record nine times and has now won the French Open for a second time, while he also has five trophies from Wimbledon and three from the U.S. Open. In comparison, Roger Feder- er has won eight of his 20 Grand Slam titles at Wimble- don, six at the Australian Open, five at the U.S. Open and only one at the French Open, while Rafael Nad- al has proved victorious 13 times on the clay of Par- is, four times in New York, twice in London and only once in Melbourne. The last time Đoković won the title at Roland Gar- ros, back in 2016, he became the only player in the his- tory of the Open era to have held all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously. That’s not the case now, as he was disqualified from the U.S. Open after inadvertently hit- ting a referee with a ball and Wimbledon wasn’t held in 2020 due to the pandemic, but this Serb has never- theless been inscribed in the tennis history books – be- cause prior to this year‘s French Open no one had ever won at least two titles at all four Grand Slam tourna- ments in the individual men‘s competition. The hero of this story is Novak himself. This master of tennis, who responded to losing the first two sets in the Paris final by not allowing his rival to gain a single break ball in the next three sets. “I’m delighted, very proud. I’m part of the history of the sport that I love, and that fulfils me. I couldn‘t be happier, because of everything I‘ve done. This is proba- bly one of my three greatest achievements,” said Đok- ović speaking after the match.
NOVAK ĐOKOVIĆ Inscribed in tennis history
With the French Open trophy in his hands, tears in his eyes and the Serbian national anthem on his lips in Paris, Nole once again succeeded in doing what no one had ever previously done
After achieving his 19 th Grand Slam title, Đoković embraced his team and waited to hear „God of Justice“ emanating from the speakers. With tears in his eyes, he gave a whole- hearted rendition of the Serbian national anthem, which resounded around Par- is. With a beautiful smile for the words „God save, God defend, the Serbian people pray to you!“, Đok- ović again celebrated Serbia and once again became the champion of the world!
Ovo je verovatno jedno od moja tri najveća dostignuća / This is probably one of my three greatest achievements
74 | Tenis » Tennis
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