Scoring 90 wins at Majors is not an easy task, achieved by less than 50 players in the Open era. The list gets much more exclusive when we seek players with 90 triumphs at a single Major, with Novak Djokovic entering it at Roland Garros. Novak has joined three other legends who accomplished that before him, including his greatest rivals. Jimmy Connors scored 98 victories at his beloved US Open, and Roger Federer raised the bar with over 100 wins at the Australian Open and Wimbledon! Rafael Nadal leads the charts with 112 Roland Garros victories, and Novak Djokovic joins the party with 91 ahead of Sunday’s final. Djokovic has always been consistent in Paris, reaching at least the quarter-final in 17 out of 19 trips to the French capital! Novak started this year’s journey with 85 wins, adding six to enter the exclusive ‘Club 90.’ Djokovic defeated Aleksandar Kovacevic in the opening round and struggled a bit at the start of the duel against Marton Fucsovics.
Novak Djokovic is the fourth player with 90 wins at a single Major.
The Serb won the opener in just under an hour and a half and dominated sets two and three to move into the third round. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina pushed Novak to the limits for over three and a half hours, still losing in straight sets! Djokovic needed two hours and 47 minutes to wrap up the opening two sets in the tie breaks, playing better in the decisive moments and bringing the victory home in the third to advance into the last 16. Juan Pablo Varillas stood no chance against a 22-time Major winner, with Novak sailing over the top and entering his 17th Roland Garros quarter-final.
Novak did not break Karen Khachanov in the opening two sets, losing the first and finding himself in the tie break of the second. With no room for errors, the Serb grabbed it 7-0 and controlled the pace in the rest of the duel to secure his 90th Roland Garros victory and enter the history books. In what should have been the match of the season, Djokovic met world no. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final. Novak won the opener before Carlos responded in the second, following the rival’s pace and gathering a boost after over two hours of fearsome battle. However, the young Spaniard started feeling cramps at the start of the third set. He failed to deal with tme, taking only one game by the end of the duel and propelling Novak into his seventh Roland Garros final. Djokovic will seek his third Parisian crown against Casper Ruud on Sunday.
