Novak Djokovic of Belgrade, Serbia won the men’s singles draw, and Barbora Krejcikova of Brno, Czech Republic won the women’s singles draw at the 2021 French Open this past weekend at Roland Garros. Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in five sets, while Krejcikova defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.
This was Djokovic’s second career French Open title and 19th career grand slam men’s singles title. His only other win at the French Open came in 2016, when he beat Andy Murray of Great Britain in the final, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. Djokovic’s 17 other grand slam singles wins were at the 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, and 2021 Australian Open, the 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019 Wimbledon, and 2011, 2015, and 2018 United States Open.
This was Krejcikova’s first career grand slam singles title. In fact, it was only her second career WTA title. Krejcikova’s first win came at the Strasbourg International in France, leading up to the French Open. Krejcikova defeated Sorana Cirstea of Romania, 6-3, 6-3. Krejcikova was seeded fifth in Strasbourg, and only had to beat one player ranked ahead of her in the WTA rankings. That was Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia, who Krejcikova beat in the quarterfinals, 7-6, 6-1. It should be noted that many of the premier women’s tennis players skipped the Strasbourg Tournament to focus on the French Open.
In Paris. Krejcikova entered the French Open ranked 33rd in the world. Due to the fact she was not ranked in the to 32, Krejcikova was unseeded. She becomes the third unseeded women’s singles champion in the Open Era of the French Open. The others were Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in 2017, and Iga Swiatek of Poland in 2020.
Krejcikova and Djokovic’s victories had further historical significance. Krejcikova became the first player to win the women’s singles and women’s doubles titles at the French Open since Mary Pierce of France in 2000. Djokovic meanwhile became the first player to win the men’s singles final at the French Open when trailing by two sets since Gaston Gaudio of Argentina accomplished the feat in 2004.
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