When fans watched Novak Djokovic crush Robby Ginepri 6–0, 6–0, 6–3 in the first round of the 2005 French Open, could they have known what was coming next?
That turned out to be the first Grand Slam match win for Djokovic, who won his 369th such match Friday against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 7–5, 6–7 (8), 2–6, 6–3, 6–0. With the win, he tied Swiss legend Roger Federer’s record. Rafael Nadal is third with 314.
Musetti did not make it easy on Djokovic, but the 37-year-old defending champion recovered to take the final two sets. He will play Argentina’s Francisco Cerúndolo Monday morning in the fourth round.
Djokovic’s first match victory in a major came mere days after he turned 18, and took place so long ago that he won it while representing Serbia and Montenegro. Montenegro gained its independence from Serbia a year later.
Djokovic remains in search of his record 25th major championship.
The world No. 1 player Iga Świątek has normalized after a close call in the second round, is now on pace to make it three French Open titles in four years.
In Świątek's way is No. 6 Marketa Vondroušová, who isn't known for her clay court talent, but has taken advantage of an easy draw to make it into the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros. However, oddsmakers aren't giving her much of a chance against the No. 1 player in the world.
Vondroušová has enjoyed an easy path to the quarterfinal after a poor clay swing.
The world No. 6 player isn’t known for her clay court prowess and only won six of 10 matches in the run-up to the French Open. However, she hasn’t had to face a top 90 player thus far and is into the quarters, but she faces the toughest possible test in the No. 1 player in the world in Świątek.
Świątek has enjoyed plenty of success against Vondroušová, 3-0 all-time in official matches, including a 6-1, 6-2 win in the first round of the 2020 French Open.
After facing a match point in the second round against Naomi Osaka, Świątek has dropped six games across the last two matches and is back to her dominant form.
In this clay swing, Świątek is a blistering 18-1, and has dropped only three sets in those 18 wins.
When she wins, it’s typically in blowout fashion, so I’m counting on the odds on favorite to win with ease again.
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The greatest men’s tennis player in history just hit a serious roadblock in his pursuit of adding to his record number of Grand Slam titles.
Novak Djokovic was forced to withdraw from the French Open with a knee injury Tuesday, one day after he outlasted Francisco Cerundolo in a five-set thriller in the fourth round that took nearly five hours to complete.
An MRI found that Djokovic has a torn medial meniscus in his right knee. According to multiple reports, Djokovic will undergo surgery to repair the injury in Paris on Wednesday.
The surgery places Djokovic’s status for Wimbledon in serious doubt. The tournament is set to begin on July 1, giving Djokovic less than a month to recover from the procedure. It’ll also be a fairly tight turnaround before this summer’s Olympics in Paris, which begin on July 27.
“The likelihood is that Djokovic will skip the grass-court swing to focus on playing at the Paris Olympics,” ESPN’s Tom Hamilton reported.
It makes sense that Djokovic would want to prioritize the Olympics over Wimbledon. He’s already won seven times at the All England Club and Olympic gold is the only major honor that he has yet to win in his storied career. He won bronze at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing but has failed to even medal at the last three Olympics. At 37, this is almost assuredly Djokovic’s last chance to win gold.
Skipping the grass court season could also be beneficial for Djokovic because he wouldn’t have to reacclimate himself to the clay courts of Roland Garros, where the Olympic tournament will be held.
But it also seems naive to just assume that, at his age, Djokovic will be able to recover from knee surgery and pick up where he left off. By the time the Olympics begin, he will be older than the oldest Grand Slam champion in men’s tennis history (1972 Australian Open champ Ken Rosewell, who was 37 years, 54 days old when he won). Djokovic’s contemporaries Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal started fading when they reached the age Djokovic is now, both due largely to injuries (a knee for Federer and a hip for Nadal). And Djokovic was already struggling this season before the injury, failing to reach the final in any of the six tournaments he played before Roland Garros. It’s fair to wonder what he’ll look like after rehabbing an injury.
Whether or not the end is imminent for Djokovic, his injury makes it natural to start thinking about the next era of men’s tennis. His career might not be over yet, but it will be before long. His withdrawal from the French led to one major torch-passing moment, as 22-year-old Jannik Sinner will now become the No. 1 player in the world at the conclusion of the tournament. He and 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz (currently ranked No. 3) are the future of the sport. The question is how much longer they’ll have to battle with Djokovic.
Brown (7) and Tatum will play in their second NBA Finals. / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Carlos Alcaraz won his first French Open title on Sunday, taking down Alexander Zverev in a five-set thriller 6–3, 2–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2.
At 21 years old, Alcaraz became the youngest men's player to win a Grand Slam title on all three surfaces: hard court, clay and grass. He's also the first Spaniard to win the French Open since 14-time champion Rafael Nadal last won at Roland Garros in 2022.
As Nadal could possibly retire at the end of the 2024 season, many fans see Alcaraz as one of the next great men's tennis players. So, it was fitting that Nadal wrote a congratulatory message on X, formerly known as Twitter, shortly after Alcaraz played his winning point Sunday.
"Congratulations @carlosalcaraz for this immense victory!!!! Big!!!! Very happy for your successes!!! #Vamos," Nadal wrote.
Nadal lost in the first round to Zverev, which was only the fourth French Open loss of his career. Nadal holds the record for the most major titles won at a single tournament with 14 at Roland Garros. He was just 19 years old when he won his first French Open title in 2005.
Alcaraz will play at the next major event, Wimbledon, starting July 1 as the tournament's reigning champion . He has now won three major titles in his young career.
