Sports

AMMAN — The Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC), the umbrella organisation for sport in Jordan, has appointed Rana Nazmi Al Saeed as its new secretary-general, according to the JOC Media Centre.

HRH Prince Feisal, president of the JOC, welcomed Saeed and wished her well in supporting the progress and development of sport in the Kingdom and thanked Nasser Majali for his seven-year tenure as secretary-general, during which sport in Jordan enjoyed some outstanding progress and achievements.

Saeed has a distinguished career in administrative work in Jordan sport, where she most recently held the position of JOC director of Sports Federations Affairs, supervising numerous projects with local sports federations as well as regional and international sports federations and organisations.

MONTREAL — World champion Max Verstappen drew alongside Ayrton Senna in the Formula One record books with his 41st victory on Sunday when he drove his Red Bull to a flawless triumph at the Canadian Grand Prix. 

The 25-year-old defending double champion and series leader led from lights to flag as he came home 9.570 seconds ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso with Lewis Hamilton finishing third for Mercedes for his team’s 100th F1 win. 

It was Verstappen’s second win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, his sixth in eight races this year and his 41st overall, leaving him behind only four-time champions Alain Prost (51) and Sebatian Vettel (53), seven-time champions Michael Schumacher (91) and Hamilton (103). 

“It’s amazing to get the team’s 100th win here. I never expected to be on these kind of numbers for myself so we have to just keep enjoying it and working hard, but this is a great day for us,” said Verstappen. 

For Red Bull, this comprehensive victory was their eighth this year and 10th in succession — statistics that make the prospect of an invincible season appear ever more likely. 

Alonso’s podium was his sixth of the season as he continued to deliver competitive and revived form, aged 41.

Alonso said he was managing a brake issue at the end of the race. 

“We hoped to challenge a bit more, but we lost a place to Lewis at the start and then battled all race. It was like 70 qualifying laps,” he said.

Hamilton said: “It’s been a great weekend here for us and we are chipping away and making progress. It’s an honour to be here on the podium with these two world champions.” 

Charles Leclerc came home fourth ahead of his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull with Alex Albon taking an excellent seventh in his revamped Williams. 

Esteban Ocon was eighth for Alpine ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, who dropped to 13th with a five-second time penalty, and local hero Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin. 

Perez recorded the fastest lap of the race to take a bonus point, but is now 69 points behind his team-mate in the drivers title race. 

After Saturday’s rain-swept qualifying, the race began in warm sunshine with Verstappen and Hamilton enjoying perfect starts, the Mercedes man firing past Alonso to take second. 

The Aston Martin pushed to recover, holding off Russell, but by lap five Verstappen was 1.8 seconds clear of Hamilton with Alonso 2.7 adrift in third, having banged the wall at Turn Four. 

Russell was fourth ahead of Ocon and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg, who started fifth, before a Virtual Safety Car was deployed when Logan Sargeant pulled up and retired his Williams. 

Hulkenberg made an early pit-stop after 12 laps, shortly before Russell smacked the wall at the exit of the chicane at Turn Nine causing a full Safety Car deployment on lap 13. 

Russell limped back to the Mercedes pits for a new front wing and fresh tyres, the leaders all having dived in to switch to hard rubber, Hamilton and Alonso almost colliding as they exited their pits.

Racing resumed on lap 16, the leading trio scrapping immediately without positional changes before Verstappen pulled clear. 

On lap 23, having stalked his foe, Alonso attacked and passed Hamilton with the aid of Drag Reduction System going into the final chicane. 

Russell, from last, fought back to eighth before he retired on lap 55. 

Perez pitted from sixth after 40 laps, taking mediums, but was unable to make an impression on the top five and chose a late burst on softs to take fastest lap.

PARIS — Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Portugal won in Euro 2024 qualifying on Saturday after Scotland produced a stunning late comeback to beat Erling Haaland’s Norway in Oslo.

Portugal defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0 in Lisbon to make it three wins out of three in Group J, with Manchester City star Bernardo Silva opening the scoring a minute before half-time.

Fernandes headed in the second from a Ruben Neves cross in the 77th minute and scored his second, and Portugal’s third, in added time.

Cristiano Ronaldo wore the captain’s armband and played all 90 minutes as the 38-year-old men’s international appearance record-holder won his 199th cap.

However, the forward now playing for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia did not manage to add to his record 122 international goals — he found the net with a header midway through the first half only to be denied by an offside flag.

Portugal, which visits Iceland on Tuesday, are top of Group J with nine points out of a possible nine having scored 13 goals and conceded none.

They are two points clear of Slovakia, who beat Iceland 2-1 in Reykjavik with Tomas Suslov unwittingly scoring the winner 20 minutes from time after an Alfred Finnbogason penalty for the hosts cancelled out Juraj Kucka’s opener.

Luxembourg beat Liechtenstein 2-0 in the same six-team group, from which the top two sides qualify for the finals in Germany.

Scotland has three wins out of three in Group A after following a famous victory over Spain in March by coming from behind late on to beat Norway 2-1 on Saturday.

It looked as if Norway would get its first win of the campaign after Erling Haaland was fouled in the box on the hour mark by Ryan Porteous and converted the resulting penalty.

It was Haaland’s 22 goal in 24 games for Norway, and he was taken off six minutes from time by coach Stale Solbakken with the job seemingly done.

But then Scotland equalised in the 87th minute when Leo Ostigard failed to deal with a John McGinn pass, allowing Lyndon Dykes to stab home.

And Scotland was not finished as it snatched the winner with a minute left, McGinn and Dykes combining to set up Norwich City’s Kenny McLean to slot in, leaving Norway with just one point from three outings.

Scotland, which went 23 years without appearing at any major tournament before going to Euro 2020, are now in a fantastic position on top of Group A, five points clear of Georgia and six ahead of Nations League finalists Spain.

They have played a game more than both of those sides, however, and welcome Georgia to Glasgow on Tuesday.

“Sometimes when it’s your moment you just have to ride the wave. The boys believe in themselves and kept going,” said Scotland boss Steve Clarke.

Georgia, coached by ex-France international Willy Sagnol, won 2-1 in Cyprus with Zuriko Davitashvili scoring the decisive goal late on.

That was after Georges Mikautadze’s opener was cancelled out by a penalty from Ioannis Pittas for Cyprus.

Belgium was held to a 1-1 draw by Austria in Brussels, with captain Romelu Lukaku turning and firing in from the edge of the box just after the hour mark for the hosts.

They had been trailing after Orel Mangala deflected a shot past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and into his own net.

“After the first goal we saw the heads go down, which is something we need to learn from because this team is young,” said Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco. “But in the end, I honestly saw good things as well.”

Eden Hazard, the former Belgium captain who quit international football after the World Cup, attended the match and did a lap of honour around the stadium at half-time.

Belgium are three points behind group leaders Austria but have a game in hand. They are back in action on Tuesday in Estonia, who drew 1-1 with Azerbaijan on Saturday.

In other action, the Czech Republic cemented their position at the top of Group E after a 3-0 win in the Faroe Islands in which Vaclav Cerny scored twice.

MONTREAL — Refreshed by a Mediterranean break since winning in Spain, defending world champion Max Verstappen will be seeking to continue his dominant run and stretch his title-race lead in this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver, who won in Montreal last year, has reeled off successive victories in Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona to move 53 points clear of nearest rival and teammate Sergio Perez in the drivers’ championship.

He has also led every lap since lap 48 in Florida, a total of 154, the longest unbroken run since 2012 when four-time champion Sebastian Vettel was equally supreme for the Milton Keynes-based team.

Another win, in Sunday’s 70-lap contest on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a high-speed semi-street track on the Ile Notre-Dame in the St Lawrence River, would be the team’s 100th in Formula One — and 24th in 27 outings. 

Only four other teams have scored a century of Grands Prix wins — Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Williams — and few individuals have relished such a coincidence of invincibility for man and machine.

Two-time champion Alberto Ascari of Italy led a record 305 laps between the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix and the Dutch event in in 1953, a streak that three-time champion Ayrton Senna in 1988, with 264 consecutive laps in front, tried to match. 

Briton Nigel Mansell, champion in 1987, and Vettel, are the only other drivers to have passed 200 laps as leader. 

“This track is unique,” said the 25-year-old Verstappen. “You get to ride some old-school kerbs and the scenery is quite cool too. The car set-up has to be a balance between straight-line and running well over the kerbs well.”

Perez, recently regarded as the ‘king of street tracks’ before his qualifying accident in Monaco, said he has been working back at the team factory on rekindling the form that brought him early two early-season wins.

“As a team, we have worked well and know what we have to do to get the car into a window where I perform best,” he said. “In moments like this, it’s more important than ever to work as a team.”

Stroll wants two 

podium spots

After their disappointing form in Spain, Ferrari and Aston Martin will also hope for a recovery with the British team’s Canadian owner Lawrence Stroll keen to see both his son Lance and two-time champion Fernando Alonso, 41, on the podium at his home event. 

Having won all seven races this year, Red Bull will be clear favourites, but resurgent Spaniard Alonso has claimed five top-three finishes already this year and is highly motivated to continue his successes. 

For Stroll senior, the sight of a Canadian driver on the Montreal podium for the first time since Jacques Villeneuve in 1996 is a special dream and, after beating Alonso in Spain, his son may have a chance to realise it. 

“That’s our plan,” said Stroll senior. “Hopefully, two cars on the podium.”

After a revival in Spain, where they enjoyed a double podium finish, Mercedes will hope their upgraded car can challenge again, but team chief Toto Wolff warned against unrealistic expectations. 

“That result was a reward for everyone’s efforts to bring out update package to the track and we we’re pleased with how it worked,” he said. “We have a new base-line to build from, but we must manage expectations.

“The circuit suited our car and we should expect our direct competitors to be stronger. The Red Bull is large and that will take a lot of work to bridge, but we’re up for the challenge.”

He added that the long straights and slow corners of Montreal’s barrier-lined track would not suit the revived ‘Silver Arrows’ as Barcelona did. “Whatever the result,” he added. “We are learning about our car.”

ROTTERDAM — Bruno Petkovic and Luka Modric struck in extra time to fire Croatia into the Nations League final with a 4-2 victory over hosts The Netherlands on Wednesday.

Zlatko Dalic’s side, who reached the World Cup semifinals last year, moved a step closer to earning their first ever trophy and demonstrated once again they are extra-time specialists.

Andrej Kramaric and Mario Pasalic netted in the second half after Donyell Malen sent the Dutch ahead, but Noa Lang snatched a 96th-minute equaliser to force an additional half hour.

However, Petkovic got away from Frenkie de Jong and drilled home from outside the box to decisively put Croatia ahead eight minutes into extra time, and Modric wrapped up the win with a penalty.

The Nations League represents one of the last chances for Croatia’s elder statesmen, including Real Madrid midfielder Modric, to taste international triumph.

“It’s a victory for the Croatian people, we beat the Netherlands in front of their fans, Croatia has one more medal — it’s impossible, unreal, but she deserves it,” Croatia coach Dalic told his country’s Nova TV.

“Nothing upset the team, they know what they are playing for, above all, Croatia. You endure everything for Croatia.

“This is one of our biggest victories, to win 4-2 on their ground, we were losing, we conceded in the 96th minute.

“Surely this is a victory which will go down in history.”

Croatia has only suffered one defeat in its last 16 matches, to World Cup winners Argentina, and quashed the Netherlands’ bid to win their first competition since the 1988 European Championship.

Ronald Koeman’s side finished as runners-up in the inaugural Nations League against hosts Portugal in 2019, while France triumphed in 2021.

“We fought like lions, but unfortunately it was just not good enough today,” Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk told Dutch broadcaster NOS.

“It’s very disappointing. We knew it would be difficult, but we actually did quite well.

“We conceded two penalties, we have to be better there, it’s hard to look for words now.”

Koeman selected Malen on the right of the attack, with exciting youngster Xavi Simons making his fourth appearance for the Netherlands on the left.

Both were involved in the opening goal, along with Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo, as the Oranje burst into life after half-an-hour.

The match started sluggishly in the evening heat, both sets of players tired after a long season with the World Cup wedged in the middle.

After a tidy team move Feyenoord’s Mats Wieffer, playing in his club’s stadium De Kuip, fed Malen, who slotted past Dominik Livakovic — Croatia’s World Cup hero on their run to third in Qatar.

Bouncing back

Croatia came out stronger in the second half, with Kramaric cutting inside from the left and firing wide of the far post.

Soon they were level, when 37-year-old Modric, earning his 165th Croatia cap, cleverly robbed Gakpo on the edge of the area, with the forward pulling him back to concede a penalty.

Kramaric stroked his spot kick down the middle as Justin Bijlow dived to his right to delight Croatia’s travelling contingent.

Further celebrations were in order when Luka Ivanusec crossed for Atalanta midfielder Pasalic to stab home from close range after 73 minutes.

Dutch defender Nathan Ake, who featured in Manchester City’s Champions League final win just five days ago, came close with an acrobatic effort before Lang pounced on a loose ball to level.

Croatia, who have beaten Brazil, Japan, England, Russia and Denmark in matches which have gone to extra-time at the last two World Cups, were nonplussed.

The Netherlands could not maintain parity for long, with Petkovic beating Bijlow at his near post.

Lang fired into the side netting when he might have equalised and Netherlands paid the price when Tyrell Malacia fouled Petkovic in the area and Modric converted the penalty to seal the win.

Croatia, which finished third in the 1998 and 2022 World Cups and runner-up to France in 2018, has its sights firmly set on their first silverware.

“We have bronze and silver, let’s go for gold so that we can finish this story,” said Dalic.

Spain and Italy face off in Enschede on Thursday in the other semifinal.

PARIS — Will Kylian Mbappe stay at Paris Saint-Germain or go this summer? Could he negotiate a new contract with the French champions?

AFP Sport looks at all the options on the table after the France superstar said he would not activate a clause to extend his current deal with PSG until 2025, meaning he will be a free agent next year.

Bluff or final decision?

The 24-year-old surprised everyone when he decided in May last year to sign a new deal with PSG, just a few days before his previous contract expired.

PSG President Nasser Al Khelaifi announced the news, on the Parc des Princes pitch prior to the team’s final match of the 2021/22 season, while the player posed with a shirt carrying “Mbappe 2025” on the back.

At the time, the club communicated that Mbappe had signed a three-year extension, but in reality it was a two-year contract [until 2024, therefore] with the option of a third year that the player himself could choose to activate, or not.

Mbappe said in a letter to the club on Monday that he would not activate that option.

That Mbappe has made that decision in advance of a fixed July 31 deadline to do so could be interpreted as a definitive decision, and that he will not change his mind again.

However, it could also be seen as part of a power struggle with Mbappe seeking to obtain new guarantees about the team PSG will field next season, and perhaps more money.

Will PSG sell?

On Monday night, PSG management made clear their anger after the letter Mbappe had just sent them was leaked in the press. The club immediately put out a message to say they would not be manipulated by a player, even their biggest and most valuable star.

The club’s position appears to be that they will not allow Mbappe to leave for free in 2024, which will be the case if he stays one more year without agreeing a new deal. 

That means the only options are to negotiate new terms or sell to the highest bidder in the current transfer window, which runs into the start of next season and closes on September 1.

However, the player said in a statement sent to AFP on Tuesday that he had never discussed extending his contract with the club and said he had maintained “publicly in recent weeks that he would be a PSG player next season,” that he had “not asked to leave this summer”.

How much is Mbappe worth?

Mbappe signed for PSG from Monaco on a season-long loan in August 2017, which turned into a permanent transfer the following year in a 180 million-euro ($195m) deal.

The 2018 World Cup winner, who scored a hat-trick in last year’s World Cup final as France lost to Argentina on penalties, would command an enormous transfer fee if PSG chose to sell now.

PSG reportedly turned down a bid of 200 million euros from Real Madrid in 2021, when Mbappe was entering the final year of his previous contract.

Specialist site Transfermarkt gives Mbappe’s current value as 180 million euros, and it is hard to imagine PSG accepting to sell their superstar for less than what they paid for him.

The only player ever sold for more is Neymar, who PSG signed for a record 222 million euros from Barcelona in 2017, a few weeks before they recruited Mbappe.

Where could he go?

Real Madrid is the obvious destination, given the Spanish giants have wanted to sign Mbappe ever since he was a teenager. Asked by a fan in the street last weekend if he was going to sign Mbappe, Real president Florentino Perez replied: “Yes but not this year.”

Karim Benzema’s decision to leave Madrid after 14 years and move to Saudi Arabia nevertheless means Real could make a move for a new striker now. Spanish sports daily Marca on Tuesday carried a picture of Mbappe on its front page. “He is back within reach” read the headline.

However, it remains to be seen if Real could afford to splash out the necessary fee after already agreeing to pay Borussia Dortmund just over 100 million euros for England midfielder Jude Bellingham.

The only other realistic destination for Mbappe would be England, given the financial power of the leading Premier League clubs.

ENSCHEDE, Netherlands — Aiming to follow in the footsteps of Portugal and France, four of Europe’s strongest sides this week battle to win the third edition of the UEFA Nations League.

Host The Netherlands faces Croatia in Rotterdam on Wednesday in the first semifinal, while Spain and Italy clash in Enschede on Thursday, ahead of Sunday’s final.

None of the “final four” have won a trophy in over a decade, except for Italy — although the Euro 2020 champions have plenty to prove themselves after failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.

The two-yearly tournament began in 2018, giving European nations more competitive fixtures instead of international friendlies, with the four group winners of the strongest “A” tier reaching the final four.

Quarterfinalists in Qatar, The Netherlands’ last success came in the 1988 European Championship.

“We can write history,” coach Ronald Koeman told reporters Saturday.

“It was always about a European Championship or World Cup, but now the Nations League has been added.

“They are still talking about 1988, when there were eight teams [in the tournament]. That says it all.”

Koeman was at the helm when The Netherlands finished runners-up to Portugal in the first Nations League finals, in 2019.

The coach, who later departed to take over at Barcelona but returned in January, hopes home advantage can push his team on.

“The players push themselves and perform better as a team,” Koeman told UEFA.

Netherlands got the better of Belgium, Poland and Wales in Group A4 to reach the finals.

In their way lies a Croatia side which proved its mettle in the World Cup by knocking out favourites Brazil and ultimately finishing third.

For some players, including Real Madrid midfield maestro Luka Modric, the tournament represents one of the last chances to win silverware at international level — something Croatia has never managed. 

“It would be phenomenal to win the Nations League and snatch a trophy for Croatia,” striker Andrej Kramaric told UEFA. 

“For a number of us older players, this seems like a great chance to mark our international career with a trophy.”

Croatia beat France in Paris on their way to topping Group A1, also finishing ahead of Denmark and Austria.

Both The Netherlands and Zlatko Dalic’s Croatia will be missing key defenders through injury, with Matthijs de Ligt and Josko Gvardiol sidelined respectively.

Mediterranean derby

Spain finished runners-up to France in the 2021 finals, beating Italy in the first game.

The sides have clashed multiple times on big stages, including in the Euro 2020 semis, with Italy progressing on penalties before beating England to lift the trophy.

The last time Spain won a trophy, at Euro 2012, it thrashed Italy 4-0 in the final.

Luis de la Fuente’s team arrive in the tournament under pressure after a 2-0 loss against Scotland in March in Euro 2024 qualifying.

The coach was a surprise replacement for Luis Enrique after Spain were knocked out of the World Cup by Morocco in the last 16.

Goalkeeper Unai Simon said Spain’s style of play had not changed too much under De la Fuente.

“We go direct a bit more, but generally it hasn’t changed a lot,” Simon told a news conference Monday.

“There are areas that change and we have to adapt to that [but] we have the key elements and with them we’ll go all out against Italy.”

Spain reached the final four under Luis Enrique by seeing off Portugal, Switzerland and Czech Republic in Group A2.

Italy coach Roberto Mancini has called up five Inter Milan players for the finals, who will arrive after finishing runners-up in the Champions League final.

Rodri, who scored the winning goal for Manchester City in Istanbul, is part of Spain’s squad.

After missing the World Cup, the final four provides another chance for Italy to flex its muscles.

Mancini says the Nations League campaign allowed him a look at some of the country’s emerging stars, including Giacomo Raspadori of Napoli and Leeds’ Wilfried Gnonto.

“It’s a pleasure for me to let these young lads play in such high-profile matches,” he told UEFA.

“Having them compete in such high-level games surely helped them grow.”

Italy won Group A3, ahead of Germany, England and Hungary.

JOHANNESBURG — Defender Mohamed Abdelmonem equalised on the night as Al Ahly of Egypt drew 1-1 at Wydad Casablanca of Morocco on Sunday to win the CAF Champions League for a record-extending 11th time.

His goal cancelled the lead Yahia Attiyat Allah gave the defending champions and earned the Cairo club a 3-2 aggregate victory after building a 2-1 first-leg lead seven days ago.

Ahly scored 27 goals in 14 matches en route to continental glory and four of them came from Egypt centre-back Abdelmonem.

Defeat for Wydad ended a run of two final victories over Ahly, and they paid the penalty for concentrating on defending their fragile second-leg lead instead of seeking further goals.

Unlike Europe, away goals count double in African club competitions when sides finish level on aggregate and Wydad would have retained the trophy had they won 1-0. 

Ahly pocketed a record four million dollars for winning and Marcel Koller became the first Swiss coach to win the premier African club competition.

It was the third Champions League triumph in four seasons for Ahly after victories over fellow Egyptians Zamalek in 2020 and Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa the following year. 

Wydad made two changes to the side that began the first leg in Cairo last weekend with attackers Mohamed Ounajem and Saifeddine Bouhra replacing Reda Jaadi and Zouhair el Moutaraji.

Veteran Ounajem was part of the Wydad team to beat Ahly in the 2017 final while Bouhra scored last Sunday after coming on as a late substitute.

Ahly made one change with fit-again first choice goalkeeper Mohamed el Shenawy returning in place of Ahmed Shobeir. 

The second leg was the 13th time the African club giants had met in the Champions League with Ahly holding a 5-3 lead and four matches drawn.

Special occasion

Among the capacity crowd in the 65,000-seat Stade Mohammed V was Patrice Motsepe, a South African billionaire and president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

For referee Bamlak Tessema Weyesa from Ethiopia it was a special occasion — his last match before retiring at the age of 42 after 14 years handling international fixtures.

As the first half got under way, an unfortunate feature of African football reared its ugly head again with green lasers pointed at visiting players to try and distract them.

Moroccan Ayoub el Amloud had the first clearcut chance just past the 10-minute mark, but after a dazzling dribble into the area, his tame, inaccurate shot posed no threat. 

The Ahly strike force of Mahmoud Kahraba, South African Percy Tau and Hussein el Shahat had scored 15 Champions League goals before the second leg, but were unable to trouble Wydad early on.

Wydad broke the deadlock when an Attiyat Allah free-kick close to the touchline floated into the goalmouth, eluded El Shenawy, and landed in the far corner of the net.

Ahly made no headway before halftime as they tried to equalise and their frustrations led to yellow cards for Kahraba and El Shahat, while Bouhra was cautioned for time wasting.

Nobody was more relieved when a 51-minute opening half finished than the referee, who was battling to keep control of some bad-tempered Moroccans and Egyptians.

Midway through the second half smoke from flares restricted visibility leading to play being temporarily halted.

A set piece gave Wydad the lead and another one — a corner from Ali Maaloul — set up Abdelmonem to equalise with a glancing header into the far corner that stunned the crowd.

Ahly had plenty of second-half possession, but did not seriously threaten Wydad goalkeeper Youssef el Motie before levelling.

PARIS — Novak Djokovic created history on Sunday when he captured a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title with a third French Open triumph, reinforcing his case to be crowned the greatest player of all time.

The 36-year-old Serb brushed off an early wobble to defeat Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6 (7/1), 6-3, 7-5 and snap the tie of 22 Slams he shared with career-long rival Rafael Nadal.

“It’s an incredible feeling to win 23. I’m beyond grateful and blessed to be standing here with so many incredible achievements,” said Djokovic as Nadal immediately described his rival’s victory as “an incredible achievement”.

Victory for the third time in Paris, after 2016 and 2021, adds to his 10 Australian Open titles, seven at Wimbledon and three at the US Open.

Djokovic is the first man to win all four majors at least three times and is once again halfway to the first calendar Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969.

“Your skill and unwavering mental fortitude on all surfaces is astonishing,” tweeted Laver.

Only Margaret Court and Serena Williams in women’s tennis have managed to rack up 23 Grand Slam titles. Court’s all-time mark of 24 will now be in his sights at Wimbledon next month.

There is little sign of Djokovic slowing down. He is now the oldest French Open champion but 11 of his Slam trophies have now been won after he turned 30.

On Monday, he will reclaim the World No. 1 ranking and start his 388th week in top spot.

“Many congrats on this amazing achievement. 23 is a number that just a few years back was impossible to think about, and you made it! Enjoy it with your family and team!” tweeted 14-time Roland Garros winner Nadal.

Ruud added sportingly: “Novak, another day, another record for you. And another day you rewrite tennis history once again.”

The sense of Sunday’s occasion certainly attracted sports A-listers.

Djokovic was playing in his seventh French Open final and boasted a 4-0 career record over Ruud, not having lost a single set.

However, the fourth-ranked Norwegian was the more composed of the two at the start, sprinting out of the blocks for a 2-0 lead when Djokovic shanked an overhead.

Ruud, the 2022 runner-up to Nadal, stretched to 3-0 and 4-1 before Djokovic retrieved the break in the seventh game when his opponent buried an easy smash into the net with an open court begging.

It came at the end of a lung-busting 28-shot rally.

Djokovic missed a break point in the ninth game, tumbling to the red clay as he chased down a Ruud drive.

His frustration boiled over when he angrily accused umpire Damien Dumusois of rushing the players between changeovers on a heavy, humid afternoon in the French capital.

Fired up, he then raced through the tiebreak, sealing the opener with a running forehand.

Tellingly, that was Djokovic’s sixth tiebreak at this French Open and in none of them had he committed a single unforced error in the 55 points contested.

Despite being Djokovic’s junior by 12 years, Ruud, who also lost the 2022 US Open final to Carlos Alcaraz, suddenly looked spent.

Djokovic broke for 2-0 in the second set and despite Ruud saving two set points in the eighth game, the Serb moved closer to his dream.

Ruud saved a break point in the third game of the third set before Djokovic was hit with a warning for taking too long between points.

But he wasn’t thrown out of his stride.

Djokovic broke forty love at 6-5 and sealed his place in history when Ruud went wide.