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Novak Djokovic won his 19th major and second title at Roland Garros on Sunday by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. He is now one Grand Slam title away after drawing with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer with No. 20.
Despite being the favorite to enter the match, Djokovic struggled early on as it remained to be seen if he left anything mentally and physically after his hard-fought semi-final win over Nadal on Friday.
But after falling into a 0-2 hole, Djokovic regained the victory in front of an excited crowd at Court Philippe Chatrier.
How did Djokovic succeed in that? These are some of the keys to his victory.
Novak Djokovic made a big rally to win his 19th Grand Slam title on Sunday. EPA / IAN LANGSDON, it is comfortable to feel uncomfortable
Djokovic’s win was only the sixth time in the open period that a player came back from 0-2 down to win a major title. But it wasn’t the first time in the past two weeks that Djokovic had found himself up against the ropes. And he fell into the same hole 0-2 to Lorenzo Mossetti in the fourth round.
After that match, Djokovic said he enjoyed the experience because he knew he had the advantage against the younger players in a best of five match.
2 related
“I like to play the guys in the top five, because I feel like even if they’re leading a group or two for love as it was today, I still love my chances, because I feel physically fit, you know, I know how to weaken my opponent, you know, at best A match out of five,” Djokovic said after beating Mussetti. “And as you know, I’ve won most of the five players I’ve played in this tournament and in my career, so I think that experience helps.”
The same mentality and toughness was very evident on Sunday. He kept calm and dominated the match in the third set against Tsitsipas and never looked back.
Conditioning pays off
As Djokovic said after his victory over Musseti, he is fit. On Sunday, he showed he could get some bruises, too.
Djokovic had a scary moment in the first set when he stumbled trying to get a falling shot and fell hard on the ground. It took him a moment to wake up and it wasn’t clear at first if there were any injuries. But by the end of the four-hour, 11-minute match, the 34-year-old looked like he could keep playing if needed.
Djokovic has dominated Tsitsipas in the longer rallies in the last two sets, winning 34 of 55 rallies that lasted more than five shots.
Rediscover the second transmission
While Djokovic struggled with his second serve in the first two sets, his comeback began once he improved in that category.
Djokovic won 73% of the points on his second serve in the third set, and 80% in the fourth – compared to 25% and 50% in the first and second sets, respectively. I jumped his rhythm and brought him back into the match.
After taking the first two sets 7-6, 6-2, Stefanos Tsitsipas fell in the third set, 6-3, to Novak Djokovic. Tsitsipas then received medical treatment before starting the fourth group. Carolyn Bloomberg / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock – The nerves of his opponent’s fifth group
Perhaps realizing his chance to win his first Grand Slam was fading fast, Tsitsipas made 16 unforced errors and a double fault in the break. As Tsitsipas couldn’t find the same rhythm he had shown throughout the tournament with his booming serve, Djokovic took advantage of his opponent’s weaknesses and closed the match hard. (Djokovic had eight fouls in the final set and there were no double faults.)
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