Since the early 2000s, professional tennis has enjoyed a generation of superstardom that may never be topped. On the men’s side, the three-headed monster of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic has dominated for two decades and delivered the most epic individual battles in the sport’s 100+ year history. Now that the dust has settled with Federer retired and Nadal’s career nearing its end, there really is no more debating the G.O.A.T. With 24 grand slam titles and counting, the title clearly belongs to Djokovic. Still going strong at age 36, "Djoker” stands two majors ahead of Nadal and four clear of Federer. The question is not if but when Novak will secure number 25 to stand alone among men and women – Margaret Court also has 24 – as the all-time leader in major championships.
After bowing out early at the 2017 Australian Open, Nocak was hoping to defend his memorable 2016 French Open title that completed his career grand slam. Featured here is a Djokovic match used HEAD personal model racquet from the 2017 French Open. Unfortunately for the Serbian, he could not get by Austria's Dominic Thiem in the Quarterfinals.
Since 2009, Djokovic has endorsed and used HEAD Speed racquets on tour. This HEAD Graphene Touch Speed Pro has a custom 18x20 (vertical by horizontal) string pattern. “NOVAK” is labeled within the throat across from a manually affixed “FRI 27.5” white sticker most likely signifying the day of use and kg of string pressure. The butt is labeled “4-3/8” for grip size. Novak is very particular about his racquets, in this case placing two gray strips of lead tape along the inner beam to achieve his desired weight on the head. His custom grip is double-wrapped with white tape over the Calfskin leather, creating side bevels to make it more rectangular. In addition, he uses a unique natural gut material for his vertical strings, which are not durable. Unlike most Novak examples, all the strings on this one remain unbroken for ideal display.
The "FRI" sticker label would indicate this racquet was in Novak's rotation for a Friday match. The only Friday that Djokovic played at the 2017 Roland Garros was his third round match against Diego Schwartzman on Friday, June 2nd. Novak beat the Argentinian in five sets. While we cannot confirm with 100% certainty that Novak used this racquet during that particular match, it exhibits strong evidence of use from the famous clay court tournament with reddish-brown staining on the grip and scratch marks along the upper beam. Sourced from Novak's inner circle, it comes with a letter from Sports Investors Authentication.