Undisputed champ of Grand Slams

No one in 52 years has won the four tennis Grand Slams multiple times since Rod Laver did it just after tennis was thrown open, and Roy Emerson. He was down two sets and seemingly out of the contest when Novak Djokovic returned from a toilet break re-energised like a cellphone coming to life after a recharge and wore down his young opponent, Stefanos Tsitsipas, the most talented of the emerging brigade, to win his 19th Grand Slam.

The Serb was in another fluctuating four-hour battle within 48 hours of having jousted with Rafael Nadal in the greatest duel of the era that contained more shades of art than the raw power of modern tennis. He emerged winner against a player with an unsurpassable record on the red shale of Roland Garros. So fiercely locked in their gladiatorial contest were they that the tennis authorities, prompted by President Emmanuel Macron, overruled curfew rules to allow the crowd to stay to the end on the night of the semi-final.

Djokovic may not win popularity contests against contemporary greats Roger Federer and Nadal, both of whom have just one more Grand Slam title than his 19. But, when it comes to tennis on the varied surfaces of the four Grand Slams, he has a record — nine Australian, two French, five Wimbledon and three US Opens — that is superior to that of the legends, of whom Federer has only one French Open win and Nadal a solitary Australian Open title among 20 Grand Slams.

Djokovic’s athleticism is backed up by an array of strokes, including laser-like crosscourt backhands. Such weapons from his armoury come with uncanny anticipation and decisiveness in volleys and drop shots at extreme angles played with amazingly deft touch. Power and subtlety flow from his racket in equal measure and to metronomic accuracy in trading shots from the baseline. Tennis has been known to lament the seeming inability of the younger generation to take over from the three musketeers who are in their 30s but Tsitsipas appears ready to challenge the kings.