Paris Open: Novak Djokovic Wins For 19th Grand Slam Title

Stefanos Tsitispas could have earned his first Grand Slam title at the Paris Open, unfortunately for him, he lost to world number one Novak Djokovic in a rally that canceled out his early lead to lifting the trophy on Philippe Chartier for the first time. 

Djokovic made a stunning resurgence from two sets down and outlasted the Greek player in a five-setter 6-7 (8) 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 to win his 19th Grand Slam and his first in Philippe Chartier since 2016. The victory made him the first player ever to win all four Grand Slams in the Open era since 1968.

"I couldn't be happier and more satisfied with this kind of scenario in the last 48 hours. Probably ranks at the top three all-time achievements and experiences that I had in my professional tennis career," said Djokovic. 

At the semi-final, the Serbian player reached the final having defeated Nadal in four sets for his first match win against the Spaniard since last year at the Australian Open final before the coronavirus pandemic came into global scale culminating in the cancellations of tournaments. 

Tsitsipas showed strong resilience and saved a championship point at the decider with a forehand return but Djokovic would not allow him to rally and sealed the match with an overhead shot. The victory brought Djokovic a Gram Slam short of total won by Nadal (20) and Roger Federer (20) in all-time biggest major titles winners. 

"I'm happy with the way I performed, the way I tried things, even if they didn't work. I don't think I have regrets," said Tsitispas. "Could have easily cried, but I see no reason for me crying because I tried everything. I couldn't come up with anything better."