Djokovic beat Casper Ruud in straight sets on Sunday to lift his 23rd Grand Slam title, more than any player in history on the men’s tour.
Since his emergence at the top level of professional tennis 18 years ago, Novak Djokovic has used the dizzying bar set by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal before him as inspiration to push himself to his limits, never doubting that he would one day rise above it.
What once seemed impossible eventually became inevitable. On Sunday, Djokovic finally surpassed his great rivals in the most significant category of all as he defeated Casper Ruud 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 to clinch his 23rd grand slam title, breaking his tie of 22 with Nadal.
This historic victory means that Djokovic is now the men’s sole grand slam record holder, alongside countless other records. After years of being blocked by Nadal, the greatest claycourter of all time, at the French Open, Djokovic also now has three titles in Paris and he is the first man to win each grand slam tournament three times. He will also return to No 1 for a record-extending 388th week as the best player in the world.
It has led to a lot of discussions about whether Djokovic has moved ahead of fellow ‘Big Three’ members Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the battle to be crowned the greatest of all time.
Novak Djokovic seems to rewrite history almost every time he plays these days, but what he achieved at Roland Garros this year was a new level—and below are the stats to back it up.
First, some top-line stats:
He won his record-breaking 23rd career Grand Slam title. It’s the most for a man in tennis history, passing Rafael Nadal’s 22.
He’s now the first man in tennis history with a Triple Career Slam. That means winning all four Grand Slam events three times each—he’s now won Roland Garros three times (2016, 2021 and 2023) to go along with his 10 Australian Opens, seven Wimbledons and three US Opens.
He’s the oldest player to win Roland Garros in the tournament’s history (since 1925). At 36 years and 20 days, he surpasses Nadal’s record of 36 years and two days from last year. Serena Williams holds the women’s record, winning it at 33 years and eight months in 2015.
The title run in Paris propelled him back to No. 1. He kicked off his record-extending 388th career week at the top spot on the ATP rankings on Monday.
It was the 94th tour-level title of his career. He’s now tied with Ivan Lendl for third-most for a man in the Open Era, trailing only Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103).
He now has 1,058 tour-level wins in his career. He’s closing in fast on Lendl and Rafael Nadal, who are tied for third-most for a man in the Open Era with 1,068 each—Connors and Federer lead with 1,274 and 1,251, respectively. Djokovic has the best career winning percentage for a man in the Open Era, though, at 83.4% (1,058-210).
He’s now won 11 majors since turning 30, more than any other player in the Open Era. He was previously tied with Serena for that record—she won 10 after turning 30.
It’s hard to argue that he isn’t the GOAT of tennis in the modern era.
My Goat Sports 