2 things that stood out in Novak Djokovic's win over Casper Ruud in the French Open final
Novak Djokovic defeated Casper Ruud in the 2023 French Open final on Sunday, June 11, to win a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam title. The match lasted for around three hours, with Djokovic recovering from an initial scare to prevail with relative ease in straight sets.
The win was Djokovic's third at Roland Garros, making him the only man in tennis history to lift each of the four Grand Slams at least thrice. He will also start as the favourite at Wimbledon, which gets underway next month.
On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out in the 2023 French Open final.
#1. Ruud started well, but Djokovic got hold of him gradually
Djokovic was always going to be the favourite to win the final. However, he had a nervy start to the match, as Ruud broke him in the second game of the first set and took a 3-0 lead. The Serb, quite uncharacteristically, kept making unforced errors and struggled to keep the ball inside the opponent’s court.
Ruud, meanwhile, was the more powerful shot-maker of the two during the first few games. The Norwegian kept playing his crosscourt forehand to good effect by making Djokovic stretch towards his forehand side. Whenever the Serb tried to engage Ruud in crosscourt backhand exchanges, the Norwegian came up with down-the-line backhands to change the course of the rally.
Still, Djokovic managed to cut down on the number of errors and broke back to take the set to the tie-break. The Serb was once again clinical in the tie-break, winning it 7-1. He did not made a single unforced error in all the tie-breaks he has played in over the course of the tournament.
#2. Djokovic dominated the last two sets with clinical tennis
By the start of the second set, Ruud struggled to hit the ball with the same power he had shown at the beginning of the match. He started playing crosscourt slices off his backhand frequently, with Djokovic responding by playing inside-out forehands to put pressure on the Norwegian.
Djokovic raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set and then maintained it to go 2-0 up. The third set also saw the Serb get the decisive break and thereby finish the match off, giving his opponent no chance at all. Ruud fought bravely, but Djokovic was decidedly the superior player during key moments once again.