NOVAK DJOKOVIC of Serbia claimed a 19th Grand Slam title and became the first man in 52 years to win all four majors twice when he came from two sets down to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in a gripping French Open final Sunday.

The world No. 1 triumphed 6-7 (6/8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 over the 22-year-old Greek who was playing in his first Slam final.

Djokovic is now just one major away from equaling the all-time record of 20, jointly held by Roger Federer of Switzerland and Rafael Nadal of Spain.

“There’s always two voices inside: There is one telling you that you can’t do it, that it’s done, it’s finished. That voice was pretty strong after that second set,” Djokovic said. “So I felt that that was a time for me to actually vocalize the other voice and try to suppress the first one that was saying I can’t make it. I told myself I can do it. Encouraged myself. I strongly started to repeat that inside of my mind, tried to live it with my entire being.”

After ending the game with a leaping volley, Djokovic who spread his arms, tapped his chest and crouched to touch the red clay at Court Philippe Chatrier. When he went to the sideline, he handed his racket to a boy in the stands he said had been offering advice throughout.

Once the third set was underway, Djokovic felt better and played better. “After that,” he said, “there was not much of a doubt for me.”

Djokovic became one of three men — alongside Rod Laver and Roy Emerson — to have won each major twice. As the reigning champion at the Australian Open and French Open, he heads to Wimbledon, which starts June 28, eyeing another rare achievement: He is halfway to joining Laver and Don Budge as the only men with a calendar-year Grand Slam.

(SD-Agencies)