2016 French Open Men’s Final Open Thread: Novak Djokovic v Andy Murray
- 129 Comments
For the second straight Grand Slam and seventh time overall, rivals Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray collide.
Djokovic has won 12 of his last 14 matches against Murray. His only losses in that time came in the finals at 2015 Montreal-1000 and 2016 Rome-1000. Djokovic has a 9-7 win-loss record against Murray in Tour-level finals.
Djokovic has a 7-2 win-loss record against Murray at the Grand Slams, and a 4-2 win-loss record against Murray in Grand Slam finals. The only player Djokovic has beaten on more occasions than Murray at a Grand Slam is Roger Federer (defeated 9 times).
It will be the 7th meeting between these 2 players in a Grand Slam final which puts them in joint 2nd position on the all-time leaderboard for most match-ups in a Grand Slam final.
Murray and Djokovic are the closest Grand Slam finalists by age. Murray is just 7 days older than Djokovic. The previous closest Grand Slam finalists in terms of age were Guillermo Vilas and Jimmy Connors who met at the 1977 US Open when Vilas was 16 days older than Connors.
Djokovic has a 4-1 win-loss record against Murray on a clay court.
The winner of this final will enter the list for the most attempts to win Roland Garros. Djokovic will go top of the list for the most attempts before winning the title here if he wins, while Murray will go joint-6th in the list with Albert Costa if he wins the title here.
DJOKOVIC is bidding to win his first Roland Garros title and become the 3rd man in history to complete a non-calendar year Grand Slam. Only Don Budge and Rod Laver have held all 4 Grand Slam titles at the same time.
Budge completed his non-calendar year Grand Slam at 1938 Roland Garros before going on to win the calendar Grand Slam by winning all 4 major tournaments in a single year in 1938. Laver won all 4 majors in 1962 and 1969 – his win at the 1962 US Open completed his set of major titles.
Djokovic is looking to become just the 8th man – and 2nd oldest – in history to complete the career Grand Slam after Andre Agassi, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Federer, Rod Laver, Nadal and Fred Perry. He is one of 11 men to have collected 3 of the 4 major titles in the Open Era.
MURRAY is attempting to become the 2nd British man in history to win the Roland Garros title after Fred Perry, who won the title here in 1935. Murray is just the 3rd British man to reach the final here since the event became international in 1925.
Murray is bidding to become the 3rd British player – man or woman – in history to win Roland Garros. As well as Perry in 1935, Sue Barker won the Roland Garros women’s title in 1976.
If Murray wins today he will become the 9th man in history to win 3 of the 4 Grand Slam titles and finish as runner-up at the 4th. Murray, who has won the US Open and Wimbledon, has finished runner-up at the Australian Open on 5 occasions.
SUNDAY FRENCH OPEN SCHEDULE
Philippe-Chatrier Court 11:30 AM Start
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)[7] vs. Caroline Garcia (FRA)[5]
Elena Vesnina (RUS)[7] Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)[5]
Not Before: 3:00 PM
Novak Djokovic (SRB)[1] vs. Andy Murray (GBR)[2]
WEATHER.COM SUNDAY FORECAST
Cloudy. High 73F. Winds NNE and variable.
BET AT HOME ODDS
Novak Djokovic 1.28 vs Andy Murray 3.32
US TV SCHEDULE
NBC will have live coverage of the match starting at 9:00am ET.
POLL
You Might Like:
Poll: Novak Djokovic Or Andy Murray, Who’ll Win The 2016 French Open Men’s Final?
2016 Australian Open Men’s Final Open Thread: Novak Djokovic v Andy Murray
French Open Men’s Seedings: Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray The Top 2; Rafael Nadal No. 5
Poll: Who’ll Win The Wimbledon Men’s Final Between Andy Murray and Milos Raonic?
May Off-Topic Thread