French Open - 'Really nasty!' - Novak Djokovic suffers very scary fall against Stefanos Tsitsipas in final
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Updated 13/06/2021 at 19:21 GMT
There was an audible gasp from the spectators on Court Philippe Chatrier as the Serb fell to the ground with immediate fears for his ankles and knees as he tumbled very nastily on Sunday afternoon. Fortunately for Djokovic, as with women's champion Barbora Krejcikova the day before, he was unscathed besides a very stained shirt as he got up from the red clay and shook himself off.
'Really nasty!' - Djokovic suffers very scary fall by board in final
There was a very scary moment during the opening set of the men's final of the French Open as world number one Novak Djokovic took a nasty tumble near to the net.
Djokovic's team and his supporters would have had their hearts in their mouths as he fell trying to retrieve a drop shot from Stefanos Tsitsipas which came over at a tricky angle.
As he slid very wide on the court, the top seed tripped and fell awkwardly by the side of the net, colliding with a sponsored board - which is far from the first time a player has done that this tournament after the women's champion Barbora Krejcikova did exactly that on Saturday afternoon en route to victory.
Fortunately for Djokovic, as with Krejcikova the day before, he was unscathed besides a very stained shirt as he got up from the red clay and shook himself off before later going on to win the match and claim his second title at Roland Garros and 19th Grand Slam.
But midway through the first set things looked far from positive for the Serb. There was an audible gasp from the spectators on Court Philippe Chatrier as he fell to the ground with immediate fears for his ankles and knees as he tumbled very nastily.
It was also very sporting of Tsitsipas, who was very aware of the situation and concerned for his opponent's well being as he stood by the net and checked on him throughout.
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Eventually, Djokovic walked over to his chair to gather himself and ensure that he was OK to continue, which he duly did.
The world number one later secured his 19th Grand Slam title and second crown at Roland Garros, having defeated 13-time champion in Paris, Rafael Nadal, in a truly epic semi-final on Friday.
Remarkably, Djokovic has become the first man to win all four Grand Slams twice since the fully professional Open era began in 1968.
Djokovic is now just one Grand Slam title behind his great rivals, Roger Federer and Nadal, with his tally now at 19. Indeed, the 34-year-old will be the favourite to triumph at Wimbledon later this summer and equal the legendary duo's marks of 20.
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"It was an electric atmosphere" an overjoyed Djokovic said in his on-court interview. "I want to thank my coach and my physio, everyone who has been with me on this journey.
"I have played almost nine hours over the last 48 hours against two great champions, it was really tough physically over the last three days, but I trusted in my capabilities and knew I could do it."
Prior to this tournament, the Belgrade star had only won the French Open once, back in 2016, which is both surprising given his overall tally of Grand Slam titles, but at the same time simply testament to Nadal's dominance in Paris.
But having usurped the 'King of Clay', for this year at least, on the Spaniard's favourite court, Djokovic has now moved to within just one major title of his great rivals with Wimbledon coming up very soon.
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Highlights: Djokovic wins second Roland Garros title and 19th Slam against Tsitsipas
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Watch all the action from the 2021 French Open live on Eurosport, eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app with world number one Novak Djokovic facing fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the men's final on Sunday afternoon.
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