They came armed with rackets and a sense of mission. And both Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic won their third titles at Roland Garros.
Here with 50 parting shots, from the clay-covered theater of life that is Roland Garros:
1. Djokovic won the men’s title and, more critically of course, his 23rd major, putting him ahead of Rafa Nadal on the all-time men’s list. There are countless angles here.
Novak Djokovic won his men’s record 23rd Grand Slam title Sunday with a 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 victory over Casper Ruud in the French Open final.
Jahmyr Gibbs spent just one season at Alabama, but that didn’t stop him from getting the full Nick Saban experience. He has found that practices in the NFL are a lot less demanding than they were just one year ago.
Gibbs, a former four-star recruit in the Class of 2020, spent his first two years at Georgia Tech. His impressive sophomore year in Atlanta led him to be named First-Team All-ACC in 2021 before he hit the portal and landed in Tuscaloosa.
While with the Crimson Tide, Gibbs went for 926 yards on 151 carries with 10 total touchdowns.
Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images
Tom Brady: Superfan
Tom Brady had himself a nice little weekend of sports spectating.
The retired quarterback — and newly minted part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders — was in Europe to catch a glimpse of two massive sporting events. On Saturday Brady was in the western part of France, on site to take in the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Tom Brady is also at Le Mans today!
Truly the #WeekendOfChampions #LeMans24 | @TomBrady pic.twitter.
The Celtics are finalizing a deal to hire Charles Lee as the lead assistant coach on Joe Mazzulla’s reshaped coaching staff, sources told ESPN.
The NFL has a gambling problem, as I’ve written in the past. The problem is that people like to bet on sports. And NFL players are people. Thus, as legalized gambling becomes more ubiquitous, players run the risk of getting themselves in trouble. And Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich is cognizant of the issue and working with his players.
“It’s a big deal,” Reich said, via the Charlotte Observer. “Obviously, we fully support and agree with everything the league is doing in this area. It’s something to be taken very serious.
Immediately after Novak Djokovic won the French Open to break the record for the most Grand Slam titles in men’s singles history with his 23rd major title, his longtime rival and friend Rafael Nadal tweeted out a congratulatory message.
Nadal and Djokovic were tied for the record ahead of this year’s French Open with 22 major titles each. At last year’s French Open, the two players competed against each other in a semifinal match, with Nadal winning.
“Many congrats on this amazing achievement @DjokerNole,” Nadal wrote.
ESPN producer Kyle Brown, 42 and a father of four, died Saturday shortly before the Alabama Super Regional game at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., the network confirmed Sunday.
ESPN Employee Died Just Before Start Of Alabama-Wake Forest Super Regional Game
“Beloved ESPN director Kyle Brown suffered a medical emergency and tragically passed away,” a statement from ESPN communications director Bill Hofheimer said Sunday morning. The start of the game was rescheduled from noon until 2:15 p.m. Saturday, and No. 1 Wake Forest won 5-4.
It came sliding and swaying. But history graced Roland Garros today. Novak Djokovic won the 2023 French Open men’s singles title this afternoon, withstanding Norway’s Casper Ruud 7-6, 6-3, 7-5. And with that, Djokovic claimed his 23rd career major singles title, taking the lead—perhaps for good—in the all-time men’s race.
It didn’t come easy. Facing both a game opponent and the weight of the occasion, Djokovic was broken the first time he served, and played for 23 minutes before winning his first game.
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
Novak Djokovic captures his third French Open title by defeating Casper Ruud
Novak Djokovic is king again in Paris.
After losing in the quarter-finals a year ago to Rafael Nadal, Djokovic defeated Casper Ruud in straight sets — 7-6(1), 6-3, 7-5 — to capture his third French Open title.
For Ruud, it was his second-straight loss in the French Open final, as Ruud lost to Nadal a year ago.
Ruud had the upper hand early in the match, holding serve in the first game and then breaking Djokovic to take an early 2-0 lead in the first set.
