French Open 2016: Djokovic beats Murray to complete career grand slam

June 6, 2016

Jun 6: After years of near misses, Novak Djokovic finally conquered mount Roland Garros on Sunday to win the one trophy he craved like no other -- a maiden French Open title that elevated him into the pantheon of tennis greats.

DjokovicIt was a trophy he had failed to hoist in 11 previous visits to Paris. It was a trophy that was flaunted in front of his face in 2012, 2014 and 2015, only he was not allowed to touch it after finishing runner-up in the three finals On Sunday, the Musketeers' Cup was his at last as he broke Andy Murray's resistance with a 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4 victory that not only completed his grand slam collection but also made him the first man in nearly half a century to hold all four majors at once.

After such an emotional win, the world number one thanked the fans who had serenaded him with chants of "No-le, No-le, No-le, No-le" throughout the three-hour battle by recreating one of the most famous celebrations seen at Roland Garros.

A la Gustavo Kuerten in 2001, Djokovic drew a giant love-heart into the red clay with his racket before collapsing into the middle of it -- an x-shaped emblem of triumph.

"It's a very special moment, the biggest of my career," Djokovic told the crowd, which included the much-loved Brazilian champion, after capturing his 12th grand slam title.

"I felt today something that I never felt before at Roland Garros, I felt the love of the crowd, I drew the heart on the court, like Guga which he gave me permission to do. My heart will always be with you on this court."

Winning the four majors -- Wimbledon, U.S. Open, Australian Open and the French Open -- in a row is a feat that is so difficult that it had not been achieved by a man since Rod Laver won the second of his calendar Grand Slams in 1969.

Hence, after Djokovic joined an exclusive club, which previously boasted only Laver and Don Budge as members, Murray was quick to applaud the Serb's monumental achievement.

'THIS IS NOVAK'S DAY'

"Novak, this is his day. What he has achieved the last 12 months is phenomenal," said Murray, who had been hoping to become the first British man in 81 years to win the claycourt major.

"Winning all four in one year is amazing. This is something that is so rare in tennis. It has not happened in a long time.

"Everyone who was here was lucky to see it. It sucks to lose the match, but I am proud to be part of today."

It certainly "sucked" for Murray when he was broken in the very first game to love.

It "sucked" again when was almost wiped out 6-0 by Djokovic in the second set -- which the Serb would have done if he had converted either of his two break points in the fourth game.

And it "sucked" big time when he ended a 20-shot rally by smacking a backhand into the net on Djokovic's third match point.

But while Murray's day ended in despair as he reflected on an eighth defeat in 10 grand slam finals, Djokovic's coach Marian Vajda was relieved the Serb had avoided the dubious distinction of becoming the

first man to lose their first four Roland Garros finals.

"Novak is 29 and when you get older your nerves are not that great and it was maybe the last year he could have won here," Vajda said.

The nerves were certainly on show in the opening set when Djokovic, despite breaking Murray for a 1-0 lead, failed to hold serve till the sixth game -- prompting one spectator to shout "Wake up Djoko, wake up!"

He had his army of hollering fans on tenterhooks again when he was broken by Murray the first time he went to serve for the title at 5-2 in the fourth set.

Two games later, he was thumping his chest and waving both arms skywards as he urged the 15,000 crowd to pump up the volume.

Minutes later the deafening roars rocked the Philippe Chatrier arena as Djokovic finally cradled the trophy that meant so much to him.

"In the last point I don't even remember what happened. It's like my spirit had left my body," said Djokovic.

"Kind of out-of-body experience... between 5-2 and closing out the match a lot has happened in my mind, in my soul. In order for me to win this trophy I had to go through that."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
March 1,2020

New Delhi, Mar 1: Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif on Sunday heaped praise on Ravindra Jadeja after the all-rounder took a spectacular catch on the second day of the Christchurch Test against New Zealand.

Jadeja grabbed a one-handed stunner at deep square leg in the 72nd over to dismiss Neil Wagner, who had to depart after scoring 21 runs.

"Sir Jadeja for a reason! Jadeja Airlines, flying high! Terrific stuff," Kaif tweeted.

In the match, Jadeja also impressed with the ball. The left-handed bowler took two wickets while giving away 22 runs.

On day two, India bundled out New Zealand on 235 runs in the second Test. However, in their second innings, Indian batsmen again struggled to tackle the New Zealand pacers and lost six wickets with a lead of just 97 runs.

India went to stumps at 90/6, with Trent Boult doing the majority of the damage with three wickets.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 13,2020

New Delhi, Feb 13: Sanjiv Chawla, a key accused in the match-fixing scandal involving former South African cricket team captain Hansie Cronje in 2000, was extradited from the UK on Thursday, Delhi Police said.

The 50-year-old British national, accompanied by a crime branch team from London, reached IGI Airport this morning, a senior officer said.

He is likely to be taken to the crime branch office for questioning, he added.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 27,2020

Hamilton, Jan 27: In awe of Jasprit Bumrah, New Zealand wicketkeeper Tim Seifert says the Indian speedster's subtle variations have been difficult to pick in the ongoing T20 series and his side needs to a learn a thing or two about adapting from the visitors.

India beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the second T20 International in Auckland on Sunday to grab a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Bumrah returned with figures of 1-21 from his four overs as Indian skipper Virat Kohli changed his bowling plans from the first game.

"Even in the first game, Bumrah bowled slower balls that were going wider. Normally, death bowlers get into straighter lines, plus yorkers and mix it with chest height. He kind of changes things a lot and is tougher to play," Seifert said.

"...the ball was holding a lot more which made it tougher. So sometimes as a batsman you have to move away from the stumps and see if they bowl straight. I was backing myself to do something different instead of just standing there at the wicket," said the stumper, who remained unbeaten on 33 off 26 balls.

"It was tricky and the ball was holding a little bit. When Kane (Williamson) got out in the over against Yuzvendra Chahal, we knew it was the over to push because they had Bumrah coming back," he added.

He said New Zealand batsmen need to take a cue from their Indian counterparts on how to adapt to different conditions quickly.

"...Indian batsmen showed how to get under the ball and time it. They showed it a couple of times that and on the slower wickets you just have to keep it like that. Once you lose your shape, you are not in position," he said.

"Try to get them (bowlers) off line or off balance, try to get into that position to hit good balls. That's T20 cricket as well. Sometimes it's going 100 per cent but some times you have to take a breath and re-assess. Indian batters did that well."

Seifert believes New Zealand bowlers did reasonably well in the two games but they have been outplayed by the Indian batsmen.

"To be honest, in the first game they were 110-1 and they had wickets in hand. We didn't bowl too badly in that first game. In the second game, we only got 130 and it is tough to bowl at Eden Park (with that total)," he said.

"170 was the target in mind but once you get 130 on the board, that was going to be very hard at Eden Park against a team that is very strong and playing really well. But our spinners were outstanding. Good balls have gone to boundary.

He said coming into the T20 series on the back of a lost Test rubber in Australia also didn't help New Zealand's cause in the first two games.

"Boys are coming off a Test series (in Australia) and a lot of them haven't played T20 cricket for a while," he said.

"But for some like me, I have had the Super Smash for the last two months, so I have played a lot of T20 cricket. They have two games under their belt now so hopefully they will have a better understanding."

Asked if New Zealand would want to play on India's strength of chasing, Seifert replied, "Even in ODI cricket, India have chased down big totals but I think on that wicket it was going to get slower and slower.

"But with that small target on Eden Park, something special has to happen with top six (for a collapse). One batsman got fifty and the other was batting very well. We needed top five-six in the first 10 overs," he said.

The Black Caps are still confident of bouncing back in the series.

The third T20 will be played here on Wednesday before back-to-back matches in Wellington and Mt Maunganui. Seifert said they would like to replicate the 2019 tour of India, where New Zealand came out 2-1 victorious in the three-match series.

"We have lost the first two games but we haven't played badly. We definitely haven't played our best though while India has played very well. If we lose the series on Wednesday, it is not the end of the world. But if we can turn things around, and win, we will take things from there," he said.

"We won the series 2-1 last time, so we have to treat it like a three match series again. But we have to treat it like the first two are must-win games."

"We are not playing our best at the moment. There are 20-odd games before the World Cup, and that tournament is the pinnacle, so we will get there (in preparation),” he signed off.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.