French Open Title Completes the DjokoSlam

This clay court championship is elusive no more.

After trying and dying three times running in the French Open final, Novak Djokovic finally broke through at Roland Garros with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Andy Murray to claim the major trophy that brought a bit of history along with it:

• Dude's the first since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time;
• He's only the eighth man to complete a career Slam;
• He's also the first man to win two Slams in a calendar year since Jim Courier in 1992.

Given the dominant players in this era -- notably Roger Federer and Pete Sampras -- that's a stunning set of accomplishments.

For a dude who's terminally pleasant, universal acceptance as either a hero or villain has, for whatever reason, been just as elusive.

Maybe it's simply due to the methodical way Djokovic mows down the opposition these days, as he did after dropping the first set to Andy Murray:

Not much flair, but an abundance of pure, unadulterated skill.

Djokovic needed all of it to assume the match's momentum. Clearly rattled after losing the first set and being broken in the second set's first game, dude rallied back with a break of his own, then watched Murray double-fault twice, and finally lit the afterburners to put the match out of reach.

Apparently, that workout challenge with Maria Sharapova paid off:

 

Seems like Murray's long past traditional Anglophone exclamations such as pip pip and tally ho.

 

Sorta like the tennis world's affinity toward Djokovic.

Perhaps that's about to change.