The Joker wins his 19th major.

He achieved that by winning the French Open Sunday after losing the first two sets. He’s still one major shy of the record co-held by his rivals Federer and Nadal, but he has accumulated his titles in fewer years, and is the youngest of the Big Three.

Key facts:

1. Before the semi-finals on Friday, Nadal’s lifetime record at Roland Garros had been an unbelievable 105-2. Djokovic handed him loss #3 Friday, and was also responsible for one of the previous two. (The only other man to defeat Nadal at Roland Garros was Robin Soderling, an excellent clay court player who made the French Open finals two consecutive years in his brief, illness-shortened career.)

2. Djokovic has a lifetime winning record against both Nadal (30-28) and Federer (27-23). He has won his last ten non-clay matches against Nadal.

For the record, Nadal has dominated Federer 24-16, so their combined record in matches involving only those three players is:

Nadal 52-46
Djokovic 57-51
Federer 39-51

Nadal’s record is divided sharply by surface. Nadal is 14-2 against Federer on clay, compared to 10-14 on other surfaces. He is 19-8 against Djokovic on clay, 9-22 on other surfaces. There is no question that Nadal is the greatest clay court player in history, with an amazing record of 33-10 against the two greatest rivals of his era. That makes Djokovic’s win against him in Friday’s semi-finals seem to smell all the sweeter.

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