The first set was the match.

Novak Djokovic defeated Casper Ruud 7-6(1) 6-3, 7-5 in the Roland Garros final on Sunday by withstanding a brutal onslaught in the opening set that left the Super Serbian doubled over in exhaustion after only nine games.

Djokovic was tight, and the ball was consistently out of his strike zone. Ruud was playing perfectly, and Djokovic was struggling mightily. Playing when tight extracts an immeasurable amount of extra energy from the body. Djokovic was not his usual self, yet he somehow found a way to win one of the greatest sets in Grand Slam final history.

Ruud led 4-1 in the opening set and had Djokovic on the proverbial ropes. The Norwegian could not finish what he started. Djokovic broke back trailing 2-4 by extracting two forehand errors and two backhand errors. He saved a break point at 3-4, 30/40, and finally ran away with the tie-break 7/1. It was a brutal set that quite possibly only Djokovic could have found a way to the finish line in.

Djokovic stole the opening set by completely dominating the 0-4 rally length.

Set 1: Rally Length

• 0-4 Shots: Djokovic 30/Ruud 12 (Djokovic +18)
• 5-8 Shots: Djokovic 7/Ruud 17 (Djokovic -10)
• 9+ Shots: Djokovic 10/Ruud 12 (Djokovic -2)

Djokovic created a substantial 18-point advantage in the opening set in the 0-4 shot rally length, winning 30 points, while losing 12. The longer the rally went, the more it favoured Ruud. The shorter the rally length, the more Djokovic got to breathe and recover to fight another day.

The average rally length in the opening set was a bruising 6.3 shots, which was much longer than the 4.9 shots in set two and 4.5 shots in set three. The primary tactic to finish points quickly for the Serbian was to go immediately to the net.

Djokovic Net Points Won

• Set 1=11/15
• Set 2=4/6
• Set 3=5/6

Djokovic had to seek the refuge of the net in the opening set to avoid longer rallies where he lost more points than he won. Djokovic started tight, missing two drop shots in the opening return game, and a simple overhead in the next game that made him play more defensively than normal.

Against Alcaraz in the semi-finals, Djokovic could use the power of his opponent’s groundstrokes back against him. Against Ruud, the ball was slower and higher out of the strike zone, and Djokovic struggled to do anything to hurt his opponent. Combined with his tightness, Djokovic was expending maximum energy, and the ball was going anywhere.

Djokovic won 43 per cent (26/60) of baseline points in the opening set, while Ruud won 48 per cent (29/61). Djokovic and Ruud both hit 15 winners in the opening set, but that would signal the end of Ruud’s aggression in the match. Ruud only hit seven winners in the second set and nine in the third. By comparison, Djokovic ramped up his aggression, striking 15 winners in set two and a substantial 22 winners in the third set.

The shot that grew in importance for Djokovic was his forehand.

Djokovic Forehand Winners

• Set 1 = 8 winners/13 errors = -5
• Set 2 = 8 winners/8 errors = 0
• Set 3 = 12 winners/8 errors = +4

The average rally length for the final was a substantial 5.4 shots, and once Djokovic got the first set under his belt, it was his aggressive forehand that he rode to victory.

Djokovic now stands alone with 23 Grand Slam titles. The opening set of today’s final may very well be one of the toughest physically and mentally he has ever had to withstand.

The reward is tennis immortality.

Rafael Nadal led the stars who quickly took to social media Sunday to congratulate Novak Djokovic on winning his record-breaking 23rd major title at Roland Garros.

“Many congrats on this amazing achievement @DjokerNole,” Nadal wrote. “23 is a number that just a few years back was imposible to think about, and you made it! Enjoy it with your family and team!”

Many congrats on this amazing achievement @DjokerNole
23 is a number that just a few years back was imposible to think about, and you made it!
Enjoy it with your family and team! 👏🏻

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 11, 2023

Djokovic is also halfway to completing the Grand Slam by winning all four majors in the same season. The last man who accomplished that feat, Rod Laver (1962 and 1969), also shared his praise for the Serbian.

Congratulations on winning 23 majors @DjokerNole and cementing your legacy in another command performance at Roland Garros. Your skill and unwavering mental fortitude on all surfaces is astonishing. Kudos to Casper Ruud, who valiantly pushed this great champion all the way. 🚀 https://t.co/vY003Jj6Iu

— Rod Laver (@rodlaver) June 11, 2023

Plenty of other stars also shared their thoughts on social media.

Congratulations @DjokerNole!💪🏼💪🏼🇫🇷

— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) June 11, 2023

What a champion 🏆
Idemo Nole 🙌#rolandgarros @DjokerNole https://t.co/G0TMgQLdBG

— Juan M. del Potro (@delpotrojuan) June 11, 2023

Congratulations to @DjokerNole on winning the #rolandgarros Men’s Singles title for the third time. He now has a record 23 Grand Slam tournament singles titles. 👏 https://t.co/Td0DH2vboa

— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) June 11, 2023

Novak Djokovic is GOAT

— Kafelnikov Yevgeny (@KYevgeni) June 11, 2023

Unreal @DjokerNole
The greatest mental strength of any athlete ever seen

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) June 11, 2023

And @DjokerNole stands alone as a man (Serena) with 23….

Absolutely EPIC

And he is far from done

— Patrick McEnroe (@PatrickMcEnroe) June 11, 2023

The 2023 grass season kicks off this week on the ATP Tour as ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Stuttgart each host an ATP 250 event from 12-18 June.

Daniil Medvedev headlines the draw at the Libema Open, where he reached the championship match last year, with Jannik Sinner among his rivals in the Netherlands. At the BOSS OPEN, top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and the returning Nick Kyrgios are among those seeking to deny Matteo Berrettini emerging from the field to seal his third Stuttgart crown.

ATPTour.com looks ahead at five things to watch at each event.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH
1) Medvedev Eyes Fast Start On Grass: After sealing a clay-court breakthrough with his maiden title on that surface in Rome, Medvedev seeks to transfer his renowned hard-court prowess to the grass at the Libema Open. In 2022, the 27-year-old reached the final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch before he was undone by surprise home winner Tim van Rijthoven. Can the World No. 2 go one step further this year?

2) Second Seed Sinner: Sinner remains relatively inexperienced on grass, having played only nine tour-level matches on the surface, but his run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year showed the Italian has plenty of grass-court potential. He returns to ‘s-Hertogenbosch for the first time since 2019, when he suffered a first-round defeat as a qualifier.

3) Home Favourite To Rule Again?: With reigning champion Van Rijthoven and the No. 1-Dutch player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Botic van de Zandschulp, both absent due to injury, Tallon Griekspoor spearheads the home charge in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The World No. 39 is seeded sixth for his third appearance at the event, where Richard Krajicek and Sjeng Schalken are the other Dutchmen to have triumphed.

4) Raonic Returns: The former World No. 3 Milos Raonic competes for the first time since July 2021 after a series of injury issues. The 32-year-old Canadian, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2016, takes on Serbian fifth seed Miomir Kecmanovic in his comeback match.

5) Koolhof/Skupski Defend Title: Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski lead the doubles field in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where the Dutch-British pairing seeks to defend its 2022 crown. The top seeds’ rivals as they chase a first title of the year include second seeds Marcelo Arevalo/Jean-Julien Rojer and Australian Open champions Rinky Hijikata/Jason Kubler.

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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN STUTTGART
1) Tsitsipas Top Seed: The World No. 5 Tsitsipas returns for a second appearance at the BOSS OPEN, where the Greek is chasing his first title of 2023. A quarter-finalist last year on event debut, the Greek will hope to build on a solid European clay-court swing during which he reached at least the last eight at all five events he played.

2) Berrettini Targets Stuttgart Hat-trick: The seventh-seeded Berrettini seeks to maintain his unbeaten record in Stuttgart. The 27-year-old, who missed Roland Garros due to injury, lifted the title on both his previous appearances in south-west Germany (2019 and 2022). Last year, he battled to three of his four victories in three sets, including the championship match against Andy Murray.

3) Kyrgios Comeback: The World No. 26 Kyrgios competes in singles for the first time since Tokyo last October. The 28-year-old, a two-time semi-finalist in Stuttgart, went 12-3 on grass in 2022, including a run to his maiden major final at Wimbledon. The Australian faces Chinese star Wu Yibing, playing his first professional match on grass, in the first round.

4) Grass Court Threats: Like Kyrgios, Taylor Fritz and Hubert Hurkacz enjoyed success on the grass in 2022. The World No. 8 Fritz, a two-time ATP Tour champion on the surface (Eastbourne 2019, 2022) is the second seed for his first appearance in Stuttgart since 2018. Hurkacz, who is chasing his first match win in three appearances at the event, won his maiden ATP 500 title on grass in Halle last year.

5) Ebden/Bopanna Top Seeds: Matthew Ebden competes on grass for the first time since he lifted the 2022 Wimbledon title alongside Max Purcell. The Australian and his partner Rohan Bopanna are the top seeds in Stuttgart. where Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic are the second seeds: The latter is defending his title in Germany after he triumphed alongside Hurkacz a year ago.