Novak Djokovic – The Greatest Man to Ever Pick Up a Tennis Racket?

Bill Simons

Stefanos Tsitsipas ticks off a slew of wonderful boxes. His hair flows free. The sweeping beauty of his backhand seems like a heavenly bolt. He moves like an Athenian breeze. His net charges are bold adventures. His mind is restless. He’s thoughtful, respectful and open – and he listens. He’s quirky, inventive and very much his own man. What other ATP pro would tell us, “Let your dreams be your wings.” He loves his family, his country and his sport.

He’s not perfect. Sometimes he thinks he knows a tad more than he actually does. Occasionally he’s a bit too self-absorbed. He quipped, “The world is 4.5 billion years old, and you are lucky to be born just at the right time to see me shirtless.” He has steadily improved, and, this year, no one else has won more matches. Self-aware and hard-working, he’s built on his two semifinal appearances in the last three Slams. Before today’s final he told us, “I’m looking forward to leaving my entire body on the court.” He did just that, and went up by two sets ahead of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

But, paraphrasing Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mary Carillo reminded us, “If you go after the king, you have to kill the king.”

Twice last year Novak Djokovic left Grand Slams in some shame or significant defeat. He departed New York after being booted out of the US Open, and left Paris after yet again being put in his less-than-lofty place by the king of clay.

Yes, Djokovic is a gluten-free seeker, prone to climbing mountains, using hyperbaric oxygen tanks and looking deep within at meditation retreats, but everyone knows that, at his core, he’s a relentless warrior. His howls echo loud.

So after his problematic 2020 stops in New York and Paris, “all” he did was win his ninth Australian Open, set the coveted record for most weeks at No. 1, forge his way through a tough French Open draw, and, then, he did what’s said to be the most difficult thing in all of sports: he beat Rafa at Roland Garros.

After that, all he had to do was to counter the tide of human nature. Less than two days after his incredible peak experience, he was back on stage facing an aspiring young Greek in the French final.

But as the match began, Nole seemed drained, even a tad awkward and far from explosive. Despite having two early break points, he often seemed off-balance. His body language was muted. He rubbed his sensitive eyes, unhappy with the Parisian dust. He seemed rushed and complained about towels and clocks. Yes, he prevailed in a 25-stroke rally and saved a set point, but he was being clocked by a fearless 22-year-old carrying the flag for a new generation that had yet to win a Slam.

Now Stefanos, who asserts, “Freedom is the oxygen of my soul,” was playing free. Never mind that this was Tsitsipas’s first Slam final. The No. 5 in the world took full advantage of his diminished foe. His movement was sublime, his kick serves had bite, he defended brilliantly, his anticipation was uncanny, his speed was a weapon. The Greek, who Paul Annacone claimed is “the most offensive defensive player in the history of the game,” put all his clay court prowess on display, saved a set point and won the 1:18 first set, 8-6 in the tiebreak. Then, with some ease, he swept to a dominant 6-2 win in the second set.

Clearly coming back to win the French final just 40 hours after his already legendary triumph against Rafa was just too big an ask.

While analysts noted that Stefanos would soon become the first Greek Slam winner ever, the youngest male player to win since Juan Martin del Potro in 2009, and No. 3 in the world, Djokovic retreated to the locker room, as he’d done twice earlier in the tourney. There, he later told us, his inner voices clashed. One voice insisted, “You can’t do it. It’s done, it’s finished. It’s time to realize [that].” Another voice countered, “I can do it.” Novak, who has worked intensely on the mental demands of the game, promptly pushed himself to internalize that positive message.

Back on court the man who had prevailed in 34 five-set matches was transformed. Here was the battler who time and again has gone after history, who was in his 29th Slam final, and who tells us the wolf running up the mountain is hungrier than the one at the top.

Most everyone knows that Novak rose as bombs fell. As a boy he carried the precarious financial fate of his family on his shoulders. He went on to labor in the shadows of the game’s two most beloved players, Federer and Nadal. Crowds gave the brilliant craftsman from a distant land ample respect – yet only modest love.

But Novak has a steely resolve, patience, endurance and uncanny match management. He doesn’t mind being far behind young players – he knows he can come back. He did it in the fourth round against Lorenzo Musetti. Belief is his friend.

In the third set we saw the grand champion we know. As he treated the court as a geometric canvas, his backhand was on fire, his movement was lightning quick. Returning serve in the fourth game of the third set, he broke through on the fifth break point of that pivotal game. He never relented.

Tsitsipas later noted that “two sets mean nothing” and conceded that he began to hit short, that he lost his rhythm: “I lost my game…After the bathroom break I played a different player. Sadly he could read my game better…He gave me no space…It’s all about endurance.”

As the No. 1 player took command and rolled to a tense 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, 4:12 victory, it was hard to ignore that yet another young player had fallen short against one of the Big Three, the veterans who know so well how to navigate through the turbulent currents of five-set battles. Tsitsipas, the fallen Greek warrior, told the media, “I have no reason to cry.” Yet, he really did. Just five minutes before the match found out his beloved grandmother had died.

In contrast, Novak confided that he just had the best 40 hours of his career and the final was one of his four best matches ever, John McEnroe simply asked, “How does he do it?” Former Serbian star Janko Tipsarevic once told Inside Tennis, “Novak wants to be the best of all time and nothing else, and is willing to do whatever it takes…Nothing else satisfies his hunger. You saw this with LeBron, Kobe, Ronaldo and Muhammed Ali.”

McEnroe concluded that it’s now hard to say that Novak isn’t the Greatest of All Time. He had just given tennis one of its most stunning back-to-back displays. He, Rod Laver and Roy Emerson are the only men to have two career Grand Slams. With his 19th major today, he’s just one behind Roger and Rafa. He has winning head-to-heads against both of them. He’s won more Masters than they have, has won five ATP championships, now claims the record for most weeks at No. 1 and, with Sampras, year-end No. 1’s. He’s a threat on all surfaces and is still near his peak. This year he could even win the Golden Slam (all four majors and the Olympics).

Djokovic’s fans, noting that their hero was leaving Paris in triumph, can now easily argue that the sinewy man from a Serbian mountain village is the best man to ever pick up a tennis racket.