Novak Djokovic made clear for years that this was his goal. What drove him. What inspired him.
Djokovic’s triumph on Sunday means he will return to No. 1 in the ATP rankings on Monday, replacing Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic already has spent more weeks at the top spot than any player — man or woman — since the inception of computerized tennis rankings a half-century ago.
Perhaps due to an awareness of all that was at stake, Djokovic, in his 34th major final, was the one who got off to a shaky start.But by the end the end of the first set, Djokovic was downright Djokovic-esque, as he was while taking 12 of the last 13 points of the match, most accompanied by spectators’ thunderous chants of his two-syllable nickname, “No-le! No-le! No-le!”“He kind of pressures you, in a way, to go for more risks, and that’s tough,” Ruud said.
Soon, Ruud led 4-1, thanks in part to Djokovic’s troubles. By then, Djokovic accumulated 13 unforced errors, while Ruud made just four.After finishing the first set with 18 unforced errors, Djokovic recalibrated himself, with merely 14 over the last two sets combined. That set alone lasted 1 hour, 21 minutes, chock full of extended exchanges, the sort of points about which entire stories could be written. There were those that lasted 20, 25, 29 strokes. One was won by Ruud with the help of a back-to-the-net, between-the-legs shot. On another, Djokovic tumbled behind the baseline, smudging his red shirt, blue shorts and skin with the rust-coloured clay.
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