In a Stunning Comeback, Novak Djokovic Defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas to Win the French Open

In a thrilling men’s singles final at the 125th French Open today, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic defeated Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas during a topsy-turvy five-set match at the Roland Garros in Paris. The final score came in at 6-7 (8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

The win marks 34-year-old Djokovic’s second French Open title and his 19th Grand Slam trophy; he is now only one award away from matching Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who are currently tied at 20 Grand Slam titles each. Djokovic could equal their historic win total at Wimbledon, which begins in just a few weeks.

Had 22-year-old Tsitsipas won, it would have been his first Grand Slam title. The rising tennis star is, however, the first Greek player to reach a Grand Slam final.

Today’s nail-biting game lasted four hours, but ultimately Djokovic pulled ahead in his typical impressive fashion. Tsitsipas, who is the number five seed, won the first two sets against Djokovic—but the number one seed pulled off an improbable, if not exactly unlikely, comeback in the final three sets. He relied on one of his greatest skills on the court—resiliency—to bounce back and swiftly put pressure on his opponent.

Post-match, Djokovic was seen handing his winning racket to a young fan in the audience, who reacted with extreme glee.

Prior to today’s match, Djokovic beat out Spain’s Rafael Nadal in an epic, four-hour-long semifinal on Friday, ending Nadal’s bid for a 14th French Open title. Tsitsipas, meanwhile, had won out against Germany’s Alexander Zverev.

Originally Appeared on Vogue