PARIS: Novak Djokovic admits “history is hovering” over him as he takes on Casper Ruud in the French Open final on Sunday with a men’s record 23rd Grand Slam title tantalisingly close.
The 36-year-old Serb can set numerous landmarks in what will be his seventh championship match at Roland Garros.
As well as breaking the 22-Slam tie he shares with Rafael Nadal, he can become both the tournament’s oldest champion and the only man to win all four majors on at least three occasions.
“The only thing I can say is that I’m very focused. History is always something that’s hovering over me,” said Djokovic, the 2016 and 2021 winner in Paris and now the oldest finalist in 93 years.
Djokovic, playing his 34th Grand Slam final, can also return to the world number one ranking with victory over Ruud, replacing Carlos Alcaraz, the man he defeated in the semifinals.
Victory on Sunday would place him once again halfway to a historic calendar Grand Slam, a sweep of all four majors in the same year which has only ever been achieved by two men.
Rod Laver accomplished it twice, the last coming in 1969.
Djokovic, however, refuses to contemplate such dominance, wary of how the pressure doomed his last bid to pocket all four Slams in the same year when he lost the 2021 US Open final to Daniil Medvedev.
“I’m not thinking about a calendar slam. I’m thinking really just to win another Grand Slam title here on Sunday, and I’m so close. I know it. I know the feeling,” said Djokovic.
“Experience is on my side, but does it win matches? I don’t think so. I have to be prepared for another long battle, and after the final, if I win, let’s talk about history.”
Ruud was runner-up to Rafael Nadal in the 2022 final before also losing the championship match at the US Open to Alcaraz.
The 24-year-old Norwegian has never defeated Djokovic in four meetings and has yet to win a set.
If that wasn’t intimidating enough, just the presence of Djokovic on the other side of the net presents another challenge.
Alcaraz admitted that the tension he felt in facing the Serb for the first time in a Grand Slam match caused the body cramps which torpedoed his hopes in the semifinal.
“Novak is a legend of our sport,” said Alcaraz. “If someone says that he goes onto the court with no nerves playing against Novak, he lies.
“Of course playing a semifinal of a Grand Slam, you have a lot of nerves, but even more facing Novak. That’s the truth.”
As Djokovic eventually cruised to victory in Friday’s semifinal, winning 10 of the last 11 games against as ailing Alcaraz, he was booed for fist-pumping as victory closed in.
However, he is so used to being the pantomime villain of the sport, that it’s become an inspiration.
“I don’t mind. It’s not the first; probably not the last. I’ll just keep winning,” he warned.
Despite Ruud’s desperately poor record against Djokovic, he can point to his prowess on clay.
Since 2020, he has the most wins on the surface with 87, most finals with 12 and nine titles.
On Sunday, the world number four will attempt to make sure that all the pressure sits squarely on the shoulders of Djokovic.
“I think it’s just a matter of not thinking like, I ‘need’ to win this match. This is a word that I try to avoid,” he said.
Alexander Zverev, defeated in straight sets by Ruud in the semifinals, believes that Djokovic might crack under the weight of expectation.
“If I would have to bet money, maybe I wouldn’t bet on Casper too much. Does he have chances? Yes, he does,” said Zverev after a third successive semifinal loss in Paris.
“But I think it couldn’t be better for Casper. Novak is one of the best players in the world, that’s for sure, but when you’re on the brink of history I think that adds a little bit of pressure.
“You remember the US Open final he had with Medvedev? The pressure, you know, we are all human. Novak is human.”
‘History hovering’ over Novak Djokovic as Grand Slam record beckons
https://arab.news/2d52c
‘History hovering’ over Novak Djokovic as Grand Slam record beckons
- Serb can set numerous landmarks in what will be his seventh championship match at Roland Garros
- Novak Djokovic can also return to the world number one ranking with victory over Casper Ruud
‘Animals in a zoo’: Swiatek backs Gauff call for more privacy
- Coco Gauff upset when cameras caught her smashing her racquet in the depths of the stadium on Tuesday after she was beaten in the Australian Open quarter-finals
MELBOURNE: World number two Iga Swiatek on Wednesday backed Coco Gauff’s call for more privacy during tournaments, saying players sometimes feel “like animals in the zoo where they are observed even when they poop.”
Third seed Gauff was upset when cameras caught her smashing her racquet in the depths of the stadium on Tuesday after she was beaten in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
The American was trying to find somewhere private to let out her frustrations, rather than doing so on court in front of fans including children.
“I tried to go somewhere where they wouldn’t broadcast it, but obviously they did,” said Gauff.
“So maybe some conversations can be had because I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room.”
Swiatek, who was also bundled out of the quarter-finals in Melbourne by Elena Rybakina, said back-stage cameras could be too intrusive.
“The question is, are we tennis players, or are we animals in the zoo where they are observed even when they poop, you know?” she said.
“Okay, that was exaggerating obviously, but it would be nice to have some privacy. It would be nice also to, I don’t know, have your own process and not always be observed.
“It would be nice to have some space where you can do that without the whole world watching.”
Swiatek was caught up in her own off-court drama earlier in the week when she was denied access to an area in Melbourne Park because she was not wearing her accreditation.
It was recorded on camera and the clip did the rounds on social media.
“I don’t think it should be like that because we’re tennis players,” she said.
“We’re meant to be watched on the court and in the press. That’s our job. It’s not our job to be a meme when you forget your accreditation.
“Oh, it’s funny, yeah, for sure. People have something to talk about, but for us I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Swiatek’s straight-sets loss to Rybakina denied her a career Grand Slam of all four majors.
She has won four French Opens, the US Open and Wimbledon, but a title at Melbourne Park remains elusive.
