12/21/24
June 06, 2016
Novak Djokovic Holds All 4 Grand Slam Trophies: In an achievement that isn't getting nearly enough press, Novak Djokovic won the French Open Sunday and became the first men's tennis player since Rod Laver in 1969 to be the champion of all four Grand Slam events at the same time. Djokovic, 29, was the crowd's favorite on Philippe Chatrier court Sunday, getting a lot of vocal support after dropping the first set to Andy Murray before winning 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. Djokovic won the next three and followed past winner Gustavo Kuerten's tradition of drawing a heart on the clay. The slam achievement puts him in a three-member club with Laver and Don Budge.
Djokovic and Murray. Sigh. That's all we've got left now that Rafa and Roger are fading into the sunset?
posted by owlhouse at 02:28 AM on June 07, 2016
There are some players coming up who look like they may challenge him: Milos Raonic, owner of the sixth fastest serve of all time, is 25; Dominic Thiem, another bomber, is 22; and David Goffin, a Belgian with a bit of Federer's fast footedness, is 25.
During a match, Goffin looks like a World War I vet who came home haunted by what he's seen. How can you not root for him?
posted by rcade at 09:57 AM on June 07, 2016
Raonic, Thiem, Nishikori, and Berdych are the best players on the tour to not win a major title.
Wawrinka (having won 2 majors) deserves to take Nadal/Federer spot in the top 3 (if those two are thinking about retiring due to age/injury).
It's amazing that someone like Federer (an all-time great), might get eclipsed so quickly by Djokovic. He's won 12 majors, and 5 of the last 6, and he's still under 30 years old. His toughest competitors are either fading fast (Nadal/Federer), or he still dominates them (Murray).
[Note: He has a winning record against both Nadal (26-23) and Federer (23-22), and owns Murray (24-10).]
posted by grum@work at 11:38 AM on June 07, 2016
If the link is walled off, WSJ links often work on Twitter. This was the best story I found.