Djokovic Overcomes Two-Set Deficit to Win French Open, Favored to Win at Wimbledon

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Stefanos Tsitsipas took the first two sets of the French Open men’s final to come within touching distance of his first Grand Slam title. But Novak Djokovic roared back, winning the final three sets on Sunday to claim his second title at Roland Garros and his 19th career Grand Slam.

Novak Djokovic French Open
Novak Djokovic came back from two sets down to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 2021 French Open final. (Image: Twitter/RolandGarros)

Djokovic defeated Tsitsipas 6-7 (8-6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to draw to within one major title of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the all-time men’s lead.

Djokovic looks for 20th slam title at Wimbledon

The victory came two days after Djokovic beat Nadal in the semifinals. It was only the third time Nadal had ever lost at Roland Garros in 108 matches.

The 22-year-old Tsitsipas came out as the fresher player and looked poised to spoil Djokovic’s French Open run. But the Serbian superstar stabilized the match, then went on to dominate the second half to earn the victory.

“I’m very proud, very happy. I don’t want to stop there,” Djokovic said after the match. “Hopefully I can keep on [winning] here in Roland Garros, at least one or two more times.”

Djokovic could get back to winning majors in as little as two weeks. Following his French Open title, he will head into Wimbledon as the clear favorite to win the grass-court Grand Slam for the sixth time. Djokovic won the tournament in both 2018 and 2019; organizers canceled Wimbledon in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FanDuel Sportsbook rates Djokovic as the +125 choice to win Wimbledon this year, but his two longtime rivals are among those with the best chances of spoiling his bid.

Despite his age and his recent injury history, the 39-year-old Federer is a joint second choice with Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev at +750. Nadal stands right behind that trio at +900. Federer has been historically strong at Wimbledon and dropped out of the French Open after winning his first three matches to focus on the grass-court season. He is currently playing in the Halle Open as a warmup, winning his first match over qualifier Ilya Ivashka on Monday.

Krejcikova completes French Open double

On the women’s side, Barbora Krejcikova won her first French Open title by defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in the final. The 25-year-old credited her success to former coach Jana Novotna, who passed away in 2017.

“All of this that just happened, these two weeks, is pretty much because she is just looking after me from up there,” Krejcikova said. “I just really miss her. But I hope she’s happy right now. I’m extremely happy.”

Krejcikova backed up that win by also taking down the women’s doubles title with Katerina Siniakova. That made Krejcikova the first woman since Mary Pierce in 2000 to win both titles in the same year.

While they won’t enter Wimbledon as favorites, both Krejcikova and Pavlyuchenkova are now fetching respectable +2500 odds to win the Grand Slam. Ashleigh Barty remains the +700 favorite, just ahead of Serena Williams (+900), who is still seeking her record-tying 24th Grand Slam title.

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