Djokovic solidifies his place in GOAT conversation with French Open title

No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated No. 2 Andy Murray to win the 2016 French Open title, complete the career Grand Slam and enter the GOAT discussion.

Jon Wertheim | Jun 5, 2016

Djokovic solidifies his place in GOAT conversation with French Open title /

PARIS – Thoughts on No. 1 Novak Djokovic’s win over No. 2 Andy Murray to claim his first French Open title.

• After two weeks of chaos at Roland Garros, tennis karma finally got it right. Djokovic did what he had to for six rounds in Paris to finally claim the French Open title. It would’ve seemed almost unspeakably cruel if he would’ve been thwarted again.

Novak Djokovic wins French Open, completing career Grand Slam

A great irony to this whole discussion—which we can now stop having—is that he’s really a fine clay court player. This was his 13th title on clay but Sunday's win was obviously the biggest one and now we can discuss Djokovic without having to make mention of the French Open title that’s eluded him.

• Djokovic has officially entered the GOAT pasture. He avoided Rafael Nadal and only had to beat one Top 5 seed before the final, but this tournament has completely reframed his career.

• Tennis world praises Djokovic after French Open title

He now has the career Grand Slam and four major titles in a row, which is something neither Roger Federer or Nadal ever did. He’s well into double figures and just turned 29 years old. This really changes the Greatest of All Time conversation, more so than any other title he has won.

Djokovic tuned the best player under 25 in the SF. He's 24-10 . Murray. He hasn't lost a set to Nadal in two years. Who's stepping up, boys?
— Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) June 5, 2016

• When Murray lost to Federer in the Wimbledon final in 2012, he sort of broke down and said he was "getting closer." And it does seem like the same thing is true here with Djokovic.

Garbine Muguruza upsets Serena Williams to win French Open

It’s been a long time since he’s beaten him at a major, but he did better in Paris than he did in Australia. What he’s learning is that it’s much harder to beat Djokovic in a best-of-five match than a best-of-three match. But if someone is going to stop Djokovic, Murray is probably the best candidate. He can take away some consolation that he got on the board first and hung with the Serb in so many of the points. Overall, he needs to be happy with his tournament.

• For Djokovic, the calendar Grand Slam is now totally doable in 2016. It means defending two titles—at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open—and the Olympics add in an interesting twist because of the scheduling.

He came within one match last year, but it was at the French Open and he is never going to feel pressure like that. He definitely has a shot—and it’s going to be fun to watch.

Snapshots from the men's final

French Open 2016 men's final

Published Jun 5, 2016

JON WERTHEIM

Jon Wertheim is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and has been part of the full-time SI writing staff since 1997, largely focusing on the tennis beat , sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism. In addition to his work at SI, he is a correspondent for "60 Minutes" and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He has authored 11 books and has been honored with two Emmys, numerous writing and investigative journalism awards, and the Eugene Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wertheim is a longtime member of the New York Bar Association (retired), the International Tennis Writers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He has a bachelor's in history from Yale University and received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in New York City with his wife, who is a divorce mediator and adjunct law professor. They have two children.