After the Foro Italico the Serbian is aiming for Roland Garros. In history there have been 12, the last to do it was Nadal
Rome embraces world number 1 Novak Djokovic, king at the Foro Italico for the sixth time, and consoles Stefanos Tsitsipas, the sad champion in search of the Monte Carlo-Rome combination that would have consecrated him as the first favorite in the race to conquer Roland Garros. And instead in pole position for Paris is Nole, with the Greek at his side and behind, alone, the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, a loose cannon in a tournament that promises to be electrifying.
What numbers
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The record-breaking Novak, the man of a thousand and one victories and as many rebirths, of the 87 tournaments won, of which 20 Slams and 38 Masters 1000, of the 370 weeks as number 1 in the world, is chasing a goal that he has never achieved in his career and that is to win in less than three weeks Rome and Roland Garros. When the Serbian won Rome, then he always made up for burning defeats in Paris: in 2008 he lost in the semifinals by Nadal, in 2011 he was beaten again in the semifinals by Federer, in 2014 he surrendered in the final to Nadal, in 2015 he was beaten in the final by Wawrinka and in 2020 again in the final against the eternal Nadal. Now the encore seems much more likely. In history there are 12 players who can boast the double title in the same year and of these only five have managed to do so as number 1 in the world. The first pairing is by the Bohemian Jaroslav Drobny and dates back to 1951. he won Rome on our Gianni Cucelli (6-1 10-8 6-0) and then Paris on Eric Sturgess (6-3 6-3 6-3). He spent five years and in 1956 it was the turn of the Australian Lew Hoad: in both finals Hoad beat the Swede Sven Davidson in three sets. In 1958 he is still an Australian tennis player, Mervyn Rose. He first beats Nicola Pietrangeli in Rome in five sets and then the Chilean Luis Ayala in Paris in three. In 1962 it was Rod Laver who in two Australian derbies overtook Roy Emerson 6-1 in the fifth set in Rome, 6-2 in the fifth at Roland Garros. The fourth and last Australian in a row to hit the match is Tony Roche: the human rock beats Nicola Pietrangeli at the Foro Italico and the Hungarian Istavn Gulyas in France.
Borg and Panatta
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In 1973 the hero is Ilie Nastase who hits the first red Slam by signing the tournaments in Monte Carlo, Paris and Rome in succession with final victories over Borg, Pilic and Orantes. The following year there is the first brace from Borg who at the turn of the age of 18 beats Nastase in the final at the Forum and Manolo Orantes in that of Paris. In 1976 it was Adriano Panatta’s turn to beat Vilas in Rome and Solomon in Paris. The first to hit two braces is Borg who repeated himself in 1978 beating Panatta in five sets in Rome and Vilas in three sets at Roland Garros. The last three pairs, before the Nadal era, bear the signature of Ivan Lendl, Jim Courier and Thomas Muster. Lendl succeeds, from number 1 in the world, in 1986 overcoming Emilio Sanchez and Mikiel Pernfors, Courier (also from number 1 in the world) succeeds in 1992 against Carlos Costa and Petr Korda, Muster instead in 1995 on Burguera and Chang (the Austrian also wins Monte Carlo over Boris Becker). Finally, when Rafa appears these pairings become the order of the day. If there are 11 signed before Rafa by 10 players, the Spaniard alone makes 8: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2018 and 2019 in the space of 15 years. Now Djokovic tries again, aware that failure automatically means leaving the first world position to Medvedev again. And this is not part of the Serbian’s DNA.
May 16 – 09:57
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