He won his 19th Grand Slam title in Paris Sunday.<\/b>
\nNovak Djokovic picked up his 19th Grand Slam win Sunday at the French Open, bringing him one title short of tying with Rafael Nadal and Roger Feder for the record for the most Grand Slam championships won by a male player, though the Serbian player\u2019s success this year comes amid offcourt scrutiny for his controversial remarks about the coronavirus pandemic. While Djokovic excels on the court as the world slowly emerges from the coronavirus pandemic and resumings major sporting events, he\u2019s courted controversy for downplaying the virus and forgoing social distancing. In April 2020, Djokovic said he was \u201c opposed to vaccination \u201d and was undecided if he would take a coronavirus vaccine even if it were required to compete in international tennis tournaments. Djokovic also held a charity exhibition tour in June 2020 with few social distancing measures in place, and later tested positive for the virus along with other players who took part after being photographed partying in close quarters. As recently as last month, Djokovic said he hopes the vaccine won\u2019t be mandated for tennis players, though he noted he doesn\u2019t plan on sharing his vaccination status publicly: \u201cI don’t want to be labeled as someone who is against or who is for vaccines. I’m not going to answer the question,\u201d he said during a presser at the Serbia Open. This year\u2019s French Open was an unusual one, marked by early exits for seasoned players. Naomi Osaka withdrew from the tournament after the first round. She\u2019d previously been fined $15,000 by tournament organizers for skipping the mandatory post-match press conference over concerns it was harmful for her mental health. Roger Federer also withdrew just ahead of his fourth-round match to give himself time to rest his right knee, which underwent two surgeries last year, before Wimbledon. Serena Williams lost in straight sets in a shocking fourth-round upset to 22-year-old Elena Rybakina, who hadn\u2019t yet been born when Williams made her French Open debut in 1998. The women\u2019s singles title was won Saturday by Barbora Krejcikova, who was unseeded and is better known for her being a doubles player. It was her first Grand Slam singles win. On Sunday, Krejcikova also took home the doubles title with partner Katerina Siniakova, marking the first time a player won both the doubles and singles championships of the French Open in more than 20 years.<\/p>\n