At the 12th time of trying, Novak Djokovic finally tasted success at the French Open. This after a string of near misses at the event. But when the agonising wait finally ended, it was much sweeter for Djokovic as he found himself holding all four major singles titles at the same time.
Entering the 2016 French Open as the top seed, Djokovic had it easy in his first three matches as he won them all without dropping a single set. He dropped the first set in his fourth round clash against Spain’s Bautista Agut, but claimed the next three to progress to the quarter-finals.
The quarters against Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych and the semis against Austria’s Dominic Thiem proved to be straightforward affairs, as he got rid of both players in three sets.
He played second seeded Andy Murray in the final. The Brit, playing his first final at the event, was able to take the first set off Djokovic, but nothing more. Djokovic won the match 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to claim his first French Open title.
DID YOU KNOW?
While Djokovic had it easy at the other major Grand Slam tournaments, he had to struggle at the French Open. The 2016 triumph was the first time he won at the event. He had made it to the finals and lost on three occasions before 2016, twice to Rafael Nadal and once to Stan Wawrinka.
By winning the French Open in 2016, Djokovic held all four Grand Slam titles at the same time, having already won the Wimbledon and US Open in 2015 and the 2016 Australian Open.
Djokovic thus became just the third man after Don Budge in 1938 and Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969 to hold all four of the major singles titles at the same time.
By winning the French Open in 2021, Djokovic became the first male player in the Open Era (1968 onwards) to win all the four Grand Slam titles on two or more occasions.
Picture Credit : Google
