Novak Djokovic joined elite company on Sunday, as the world's top player defeated Andy Murray for his first French Open title, completing the career Grand Slam.
The 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 win for the Serbian was historic in many regards.
- Djokovic joins Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the fourth player in the Open era to win all four Grand Slam titles.
- With the win, Djokovic also becomes the first men's player since Rod Laver in 1969 to own all four Grand Slam titles at the same time. Djokovic won the U.S. Open and Wimbledon in 2015, along with the Australian Open and now the French in 2016.
- This is the 12th Grand Slam title of Djokovic's career, which ties him with Roy Emerson for fourth all-time. Federer leads the category with 17.
- Djokovic has now won 28 consecutive Grand Slam matches, which is an all-time record for men. The women's record is 50, set by Maureen Connolly Brinker in 1954.
Game. Set .Match NOVAK DJOKOVIC ! 🏆 #RG16https://t.co/qAzMZNjfqR
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) June 5, 2016
Murray seemed up to the challenge from the beginning. After being broken in the first game of the match without winning a point, he bounced back to rattle off four straight games en route to taking the first set, 6-3.
An argument with the chair umpire towards the end of the first set seemed to energize Djokovic, however, and he stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the second set before winning, 6-1. After that Djokovic sailed with relative ease until a late comeback attempt by Murray in the fourth set brought it to 5-4.
Djokovic settled down and held serve to win his first French Open title.
Djokovic achieved the non-calendar Grand Slam with the win, but could complete the calendar Grand Slam with wins at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open later this year. He would be only the third player to accomplish the feat, joining Laver (who did it twice) and Don Budge, who did it in 1938.
