Novak Djokovic will have to wait yet another twelve months to complete his Grand Slam set after his bid to win the French Open for the first time was once again thwarted, this time by new champion Stan Wawrinka.
The world number appeared well on the way to breaking his Roland Garros curse after he took the first set 6-4.
However Wawrinka, who has returned to the top four in the world rankings for the first time since January, took the next three sets to clinch his second Grand Slam title, following last year’s success at the Australian Open.
His two Grand Slam titles have come in similar fashion: he was the eighth seed, started the draw in the same quarter as the second seed, defeated that seed (Djokovic at the 2014 Australian Open and Roger Federer here) and then defeated the top seed (Rafael Nadal and Djokovic, respectively) in the final in four sets.
On each occasion, his opponent was going for the double Career Grand Slam and the single Career Grand Slam, respectively. Following those victories, he rose five places in the rankings into the top four.
The Swiss may have now inherited the title of Grand Slam party-pooper, having thwarted those bids by Nadal and Djokovic, in addition to defeating local hope Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semi-finals.
Nadal once held that tag, denying Federer four times at the French Open between 2005 and 2008 and Djokovic three times at the same tournament between 2012 and 2014, when both were (and in the case of Djokovic, is still) attempting to complete their Grand Slam sets.
Federer has since completed his set, doing so in 2009 by defeating surprise finalist Robin Soderling in the final (Soderling had beaten Nadal in the fourth round, clearing the way for the Swiss to finally win the title).
The Spaniard has been on the wrong end twice before, when his bid to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously was denied by compatriot David Ferrer at the 2011 Australian Open, in addition to his bid for a double Career Grand Slam being denied by Wawrinka at last year’s Australian Open.
Wawrinka’s win also represented a massive turnaround from twelve months ago when, in his first Grand Slam tournament since winning the Australian Open, he crashed out in the first round to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
He now joins the Big Four (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray), as well as Lleyton Hewitt as active players who have won at least two Grand Slam titles.
It also proves that his Australian Open victory, which broke a 16-Slam winning streak by the Big Four, was no fluke and that he is a contender to join them on the big stage.
As for Djokovic, it was once again so close, but yet so far. However, the Serb lost no respect and was applauded during the post-match ceremony as was second best for the third time in as many finals here. He remains top spot in the world rankings ahead of Wimbledon, which starts on June 29.
Completing his Grand Slam set will be the Djoker’s top priority next year, but the next issue is defending his Wimbledon title, where he will be the top seed.
Will 2016 be the year Novak Djokovic finally breaks his French Open curse, or will be join Pete Sampras as a tennis great who could never conquer the most demanding of the Grand Slams? We’ll have to wait and see.
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