How you hit the ball matters. Where you stand to hit it matters more.

Andy Murray got off to a flying start, but Novak Djokovic finally prevailed 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to win the Roland Garros final Sunday. Murray had an opportunity to go up a set and break with Djokovic serving at Ad out in the first game of the second set, but Murray’s strong magnetism for the baseline suddenly lost its attraction.

On break point, the Brit played three defensive shots, finishing the point standing near the back fence as Djokovic dispatched an easy overhead winner at net. Everything to that point in time was primarily controlled by Murray. Almost everything after that was dominated by Djokovic.

“I did a pretty good job of not giving him free points for the first hour or so, and then I started dropping too far behind the baseline, and he was then able to dictate more of the points,” Murray said. “I needed to be a little bit closer to the baseline for more of the match today, and wasn’t able to do it,” he added.

First Set Firepower
Murray won the opening set with power tennis and targeting Djokovic’s forehand wing, where the Serb committed 14 forehand errors, including nine groundstrokes and five on his return of serve. Murray initially broke Djokovic for a 3-1 lead, crushing a 150km/h (93mph) forehand return winner to surge to a 0/30 advantage in that game. Serving at 3-1 30/15, he unleashed with a 159km/h (99mph) forehand winner to clearly send the message that his primary pattern of play was pure aggression from a commanding court position.

With Murray leading 4-1 in the opening set, his average serve speed was 176 km/h (109mph), compared to Djokovic’s 159 km/h (99 mph). The added power helped Murray run less, as he was averaging 16.67 metres moved per point to Djokovic’s 17.39 metres halfway through the opener.

Rally Length
Even on clay, even between these two baseline giants of our game, the shorter 0-4 shot rally length was still where the majority of points were played in this final. Overall, 52 per cent of points ended in the first four shots, 24 per cent ended in the 5-8 shot range, and an identical 24 per cent lasted nine shots or longer.

Amazingly, their Australian Open final in January on hard court and in Madrid on clay last month both produced exactly 52 per cent of total points in the crucial 0-4 shot rally length. In the Roland Garros final, Djokovic did not have a winning record in any rally length in set one, but dominated in almost all of the rally lengths from the second set onward.

Final Rally Length

Drop Shots
A combined 29 drop shots were hit for the match between the two players, sometimes coming from the back of the court or following another drop shot. Djokovic won 59 per cent (10/17), while Murray was even more successful, winning 67 per cent (8/12). The goal was to often pull the opponent out of their comfort zone at the back of the court and fatigue him for the ensuing points.

Net versus Baseline
Djokovic and Murray are widely regarded as two of the best baseliners in the world, but they combined to venture to the net 57 times in four sets to feast on the higher win percentage that the front of the court offers.

Djokovic won just 51 per cent (68/133) of his baseline points in the final, but an astounding 79 per cent (26/33) at the net. Murray won just 42 per cent (59/142) from the baseline and 54 per cent (13/24) venturing forward to the net.

Modern clay court tennis is very much about holding the baseline, dominating with first strike aggression and finishing at the net – just like the other surfaces. To no one’s surprise, Djokovic does it all just a little bit better than the rest.

Roger Federer didn’t watch much of the tennis from Roland Garros, including the final between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The Swiss star was too busy spending time with family and getting ready to make a run of his own at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart, which kicks off the grass-court season on Monday.

Federer, who pulled out of Roland Garros because of a back injury, was rehabbing and making sure he’d be healthy for a strong grass-court campaign. On Sunday, he said withdrawing from the Grand Slam was the right move.

“I feel much better again. It’s been a good last three weeks. No setbacks,” Federer said in Stuttgart while the Roland Garros final was taking place. “My back’s good again. I feel much stronger. I was pretty fragile three weeks ago.”

Federer, 34, had played at Roland Garros every year since 1998. Missing the tournament was emotional at first, he said, but he knew that skipping it this year would be the right move for the long run.

“It was much better for me to look forward to the rest of the season, rest of my life, really. I didn’t want to have setback after setback and injure myself maybe further,” Federer said. “In hindsight, that was definitely the right decision.”

At the MercedesCup in Germany, Federer will join other Top 20 players, including Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem and Gilles Simon. The World No. 3 is eager to finally play in a tournament again. Federer has played in only four tournaments this year, including two since the Australian Open. He underwent knee surgery in February and has had to withdraw from other events because of a stomach virus and his aching back.

“It’s been a tough year,” Federer said. “I’m super excited about playing another tournament.”

One of the all-time best grass-court players should feel at home in Stuttgart. The tournament switched from clay to grass last year. Federer will be playing in the event for the first time.

“They’ve done a really nice job here. I think it’s a huge step for them to go from clay to grass,” he said. “I hope it’s something good for the future for this event, and I can’t wait to play in it.”

Federer receives a first-round bye and is scheduled to play #NextGen star Taylor Fritz or a qualifier in the second round.

A LOOK BACK

Unicredit Czech Open (Prostejov, Czech Republic): No. 6 seed Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan picked up his first title of the year by defeating qualifier Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, 6-1, 6-2. The 59-minute win was the fourth Challenger final of the year to last less than an hour. Kukushkin is now on a 10-match win streak on the ATP Challenger Tour, having prevailed in the most recent event he had entered last July in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Despite the loss, the week was a success for Fucsovics. He reached his first Challenger final in nearly two years, with his most recent runner-up finish coming in July 2014 in Todi, Italy.

Former World No. 1 and eight-time Grand Slam champion Ivan Lendl, the tournament ambassador this year in Prostejov, was on hand to present both players with their trophies.

Aegon Manchester Trophy (Manchester, England): Dustin Brown of Germany also picked up his first title of the year by prevailing over his doubles partner and No. 4 seed Yen-Hsun Lu of Taipei, 7-6(5), 6-1. The win gave Brown his seventh career ATP Challenger Tour title and his first since September 2014, when he prevailed in Szczecin, Poland. He is now just the fourth player in the past five years to win Challenger titles on grass, clay and hard courts (joining Nick Kyrgios, Denis Kudla and Grega Zemlja). Brown will also return to the Top 100 in the Emirates ATP Ranking when the newest standings are released.

Lu has been enjoying a successful return from elbow surgery, finishing as runner-up in two of his first three Challenger tournaments back on tour.

Franken Challenge (Furth, Germany): Radu Albot of Moldova won his third career ATP Challenger Tour title by upsetting No. 4 seed Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, 6-3, 6-4. Albot was in top form all week and didn’t drop a set. Struff is still looking for his first Challenger title of 2016, having also finished as runner-up last month in Heilbronn, Germany.

WHAT THEY SAID

Kukushkin: “I didn’t expect that I was going to win coming here, but was getting more confidence with each match. My quarter-final (against Jiri Vesely) was probably the most important win for me this week. To win the biggest Challenger is very important. This tournament is famous on tour and has a lot of strong players.”

Brown: “Coming here when I saw the draw, I didn’t really expect this. All the guys are very good grass court players, especially in my section. I think the key part was just to stay calm and keep playing, it could have gone the other way a few times. During the week, I often found myself a few games down or broken early, so today I just kept telling myself that I’m playing well. I stayed calm and kept playing my own game.”

A LOOK AHEAD

The next week on the ATP Challenger Tour is packed with five events. The $125,000 tournament in Caltanissetta, Italy, takes top billing as it returns for the 18^th consecutive year. Two players inside the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings are in the field, with world No. 54 Paolo Lorenzi of Italy as the No. 1 seed and World No. 99 Facundo Bagnis of Argentina as the No. 2 seed. Defending champion and #NextGen star Elias Ymer of Sweden is the No. 3 seed. Other notable names in the draw include former Top 25 player Filippo Volandri of Italy and former Top 30 player Santiago Giraldo of Colombia.

A new event on the calendar is the $75,000 tournament in Lyon, France. Taro Daniel of Japan is the No. 1 seed and Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain is the No. 2 seed. Other notable names in the draw include former Top 25 player Julien Benneteau of France and Frenchman Mathias Bourgue, who took World No. 2 Andy Murray to five sets this year in the second round at Roland Garros.

The $75,000 tournament in Moscow, Russia, returns for the second consecutive year. Kukushkin looks to continue his form from Prostejov as the top seed, while #NextGen star and local favourite Karen Khachanov is the No. 2 seed. Another notable name in the draw is No. 8 seed and #NextGen star Andrey Rublev of Russia.

The illustrious $50,000 grass court event in Surbiton, England, returns for the 13^th year. Past champions include Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mardy Fish. Local favourite Daniel Evans looks to add his name to the list as the No. 1 seed, while Australian Jordan Thompson, a winner of two ATP Challenger Tour events this year, is the No. 2 seed. Lu and Brown also look to continue their top grass court form as the No. 3 and No. 5 seeds, respectively. Other notable names in the draw include American #NextGen stars Frances Tiafoe and Noah Rubin.

Lastly, the always-popular $50,000 event in Prague, Czech Republic, is back for the 21^st straight year. Local favourite Lukas Rosol is the top seed and Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil, a winner last month at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Bordeaux, is the No. 2 seed. Gerald Melzer of Austria, a winner of three Challenger titles this year, is the No. 5 seed. Another notable name in the draw is former Top 40 player Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan.

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ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: New in 2016, the ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallengerTour at twitter.com/ATPChallengerTour.

From the start of the fortnight, Novak Djokovic just had a feeling about this year’s Roland Garros. He felt a closer connection to the fans than he had in past years. He even felt more connected to the people who make the tournament run on a daily basis, the security officials and the ball kids.

“It was just different,” said Djokovic, who had lost in the Roland Garros final three previous times.

The tournament certainly ended differently for the World No. 1. Djokovic beat Andy Murray for the fifth time in a Grand Slam final on Sunday to win his first Roland Garros title 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.

The Serbian also joined the sport’s all-time elite in two big ways. He became the third player in history to hold all four major titles at one time, joining Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962, 1969). Djokovic also became the eighth man to win all four Grand Slams during his career, joining Fred Perry, Budge, Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

“I was hoping that this is the year,” Djokovic said. “I felt that kind of support and love from the people around that allowed me to be sitting here with the trophy… That kind of support was very well present at the stadium today.”

The crowd was pulling for Djokovic and history, and the 29 year old did not let them down. After dropping the first set, Djokovic rolled for nearly three consecutive sets.

“I needed a little bit of time to really find the right rhythm and to start playing the way I intended, which happened in the beginning of the second and practically until 5-2 in the fourth set. It was flawless tennis,” Djokovic said. “I really felt like I played high quality and put a lot of pressure on Andy’s serves.”

The 12-time Grand Slam champion showed he was human when he first tried to clinch the title. He lost his first two match points before completing the career Grand Slam when Murray netted a backhand.

“In the last point I don’t even remember what happened. It was really one of those things, moments where you just try to be there. It’s like my spirit left my body and I was just observing my body,” Djokovic said. “A thrilling moment. One of the most beautiful I have had in my career.”

Djokovic, who’s reached six consecutive Grand Slam finals, even dared to dream about joining another historic list and talked about pursuing the calendar-year Grand Slam for the remainder of the season. The last man to win that was Laver in 1969.

“I really think everything is achievable in life,” Djokovic said. “Whether or not I can reach a Calendar Slam, that’s still a possibility. But I don’t think about it right now. Right now, I just [want] to enjoy this experience of winning the trophy that I [had] never won before.”

“What Novak achieved today is something extremely special, and a lot of people would have wanted to have seen that and been a part of that,” said Andy Murray after his four-set loss to Novak Djokovic gave the World No. 1 a career Grand Slam. The pair faced off for the seventh time in a Grand Slam final. “He played extremely well and gave me very few errors.”

Murray, who won their previous meeting on the clay of Rome, played smash-mouth tennis en route to a 6-3 first set win, but simply could not match Djokovic’s consistent excellence as the match progressed.

“The conditions have been challenging for all the players. Very heavy; tough, tough conditions. If you aren’t the one dictating the points, you end up doing quite a bit of running and it’s not easy,” said Murray, shedding light on his choice of tactics in the opening set of the match. “I kept fighting till the end, but I wasn’t able to play my best when I needed to.”

For Murray, just being on the court on the second Sunday is an incredible result. The Brit struggled on the red clay earlier in his career before reaching his first clay-court final in 2015 and beating both Rafael Nadal and Djokovic on the surface this year. Murray was a set from defeat against veteran Radek Stepanek and French underdog Mathias Bourgue in his opening two rounds, before righting the ship and eventually taking out defending champion Stan Wawrinka for his first Roland Garros final berth.

“I think both of us had tough runs to the finals for different reasons. Obviously, I played a lot of long matches at the beginning of the tournament, and then the match with Stan wasn’t that long. The match with Richard [Gasquet] I think was just over three hours,” said Murray, who acknowledged that delays due to rainy weather have been a big factor during the fortnight. “Novak had to play every day, although his matches were more comfortable, so it was a little bit different.

“[It’s] such a rare thing [for Novak’s achievement] to have happened, and obviously the depth in the game just now is strong. Some people may think differently, but the level of tennis is pretty high now and something you probably won’t see for a long, long time. His performances over the last 18 months to two years have been exceptional.”

The 29 year old believes that, beyond the initial disappointment of losing big match against the likes of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, his presence alongside other members of the Big Four will mean much to him once it’s all said and done.

“The guys I have been around the last few years have made things difficult for me. I have been close-ish to winning all of the Slams now and unfortunately all of them have done it instead.

“But I guess I’ve got a few more years to try and do that. I think, you know, when I finish I will be more proud of my achievements maybe. None of the big events I have won have I done without beating one of those guys or a couple of them.

“So maybe when I finish playing my achievements will mean a little bit more.”

In the meantime, Murray is out for revenge during the upcoming grass-court season.

“I have played some of my best tennis on clay over the past few weeks. Hopefully that translates well onto the grass, which is a surface that comes way, way more naturally to me.

“If [Novak and I] meet on the grass, I’ll try and learn from the last few weeks’ matches and see things I could have done better.”