Since his emergence at the top level of professional tennis 18 years ago, Novak Djokovic has used the dizzying bar set by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal before him as inspiration to push himself to his limits, never doubting that he would one day rise above it.
What once seemed impossible eventually became inevitable. On Sunday, Djokovic finally surpassed his great rivals in the most significant category of all as he defeated Casper Ruud 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 to clinch his 23rd grand slam title, breaking his tie of 22 with Nadal.
