MASTER OF PARIS
Djokovic fights back from brink
NOVAK DJOKOVIC targeted the Wimbledon title and a “Golden Slam” after revealing he had been “coached” to his stunning French Open comeback triumph by a young fan.
The world No.1 rallied from two sets down to break Stefanos Tsitsipas’ heart and claim his 19th Major title.
The super Serb becomes the first man in the Open era to win each Grand Slam twice, and is now one title away from equalling the alltime male record of 20 held jointly by Roger Federer and
Rafa Nadal.
Victory in SW19 next month will see the Big Three level in the race to be known as the greatest of all time.
Djokovic, who has claimed a Tiger Woods-like seven out of the last 11 Majors, said: “Everything is possible and I did put myself in a good position to go for the Golden Slam.
“I’m going for the title at Wimbledon. I won in ‘18 and ‘19 there. Hopefully I can keep that run going.”
Coach Marian Vajda added: “As long as Novak is healthy, he has the ability to win the Grand Slam this year.” Yet
Djokovic, 34, looked to be suffering a hangover from beating 13-time champion Nadal in the semi-final during a flat second set.
However, after a toilet break he re-emerged to outlast and outclass Greek Tsitsipas, 22, in their generation game 6-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 in four hours and 11 minutes.
Djokovic then handed his racket to a delighted boy.
The Serb said: “He was in my ear the entire match especially when I was two sets down.
“He was encouraging me. He was actually giving me tactics, as well, he was coaching me literally. I found that cute, very nice.”
Barbora Krejcikova became the first woman since Mary Pierce in 2000 to win singles and doubles titles at the same French Open.
A day after seeing off Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Krejcikova joined fellow Czech Katerina Siniakova to beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Iga Swiatek 6-4 6-2.