Lessons from a Champion

June 2023 turned out to be a game of thrones in sports. Earlier in June, the Manchester City Football Club became the second English football club to win all three major tournaments in one season, the grand slams of soccer the treble honors. Elsewhere on the clay courts of Roland Garros, Novak Djokovic won the French Open, his 23rd men's singles grand slam victory, making him the men's sole grand slam record holder. Amid high expectations, Djokovic pulled off a record-making win in Paris, demonstrating his years of training in on-court resilience and planning. That evening in Paris, he showed his ability to adapt and his motivation to achieve his goal of winning.

- Jennifer Paldano Goonewardane.

An Ambitious Hard Fought Journey

As a seven-year-old fledgling tennis player, Novak Djokovic had dreamt of greatness. He had dreamt of winning Wimbledon someday and becoming world number one in tennis. From then on, he had his eyes on the prize, and every victory as a professional sportsman came with meticulous planning, hard work, and, more than anything, a single-minded focus on winning. Of course, in all of this, a degree of natural talent counts too. On the evening of 11 June, the look of triumph on Novak Djokovic was unmistakable. It was yet another milestone on the road to tennis greatness. Watching Novak raise his victory cup to a captivating crowd cheer was certainly a goosebumps moment with the realization that he had just made tennis history. At that point, the commentator echoed what many were thinking. He seemed unbeatable and unstoppable, that air of confidence not eluding him for a moment. He displayed a levelheadedness that hid the punishing preparation for the game that catapulted him to tennis stardom. Is any pro tennis player not dreaming of winning at least one grand slam in their professional career? By winning it 23 times, Novak has emerged as the greatest-ever tennis player in history, setting a record that seems hard to break.

Winning his 23rd record-making grand slam and surpassing Rafael Nadal was extra special for Djokovic. Playing and winning the French Open has always been the hardest, which he admitted made the victory surreal and emotional. He applauded the spectators for their energy that brought out a good game on a historic day.