The Latest: Djokovic is up 2 sets to 1 in French Open final
PARIS (AP) The Latest on the French Open (all times local):
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5:25 p.m.
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic is just one set away from a career Grand Slam.
The Serb served out the third set of the French Open final and now leads 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 against second-seeded Andy Murray.
Fatigue seems to be taking its toll on Murray, who has been lacking precision from the baseline over the past couple of games.
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5:10 p.m.
Novak Djokovic is now up 4-1 in the third set after he produced a magnificent winner.
Andy Murray attempted a drop shot but the Serb rushed to the net to retrieve the ball and send it back to the other side of the net for an angled winner, out of Murray's reach.
Murray asked for a banana at the changeover while chants of ''Nole, Nole, Nole'' (Djokovic's nickname) resonated on Court Philippe Chatrier.
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5 p.m.
Novak Djokovic has landed the first blow in the third set of the French Open final, breaking Andy Murray to take a 2-1 lead when the Scot volleyed into the net.
The second game of the set, with Djokovic serving, saw the standout point so far of what is proving a riveting final.
Djokovic landed a drop shot that looked, surely, to be beyond Murray's reach. But get to it, the Scot did, scooping it back across the net at an acute angle. Djokovic sprinted and, with wrists seemingly made of rubber, then hit it back, also at an acute angle that left Murray no chance.
Djokovic won that game with a clean forehand winner for 1-1.
Murray served next. Under pressure at 15-30, he came into the net behind a drop shot but Djokovic was quickly onto it and passed Murray to bring up two break points.
Murray saved the first but then volleyed a forehand into the net to give Djokovic the first break of the set.
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4:35 p.m.
Novak Djokovic has taken the second set of the French Open final to level at one set all against Andy Murray.
With Murray serving at 4-1 down, Djokovic brought up two break points when he scrambled to reach a drop shot from the Scot and then sent it back at an acute angle beyond the reach of his opponent.
A clean backhand winner down the line from the top-ranked player then secured the break and a 5-1 lead, leaving him to serve out the set, which he did to take it 6-1.
Murray won the first set 6-3 but Djokovic has since noticeably upped his game.
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4:30 p.m.
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic has steadied himself in the second set of the French Open final after losing the first set to Andy Murray.
Djokovic saved a break point in the first game, broke Murray in the second when the Scot served a double fault on a break point and then held serve again to jump to a 3-0 lead.
Djokovic had a chance to make it 4-0 but Murray saved two break points to make it 3-1.
Djokovic is now 4-1 up after holding serve.
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4:15 p.m.
Novak Djokovic is struggling with his serve and has managed to win just 25 percent of the points played on his second serve so far.
The Serb has faced a fifth break point in the opening game of the second set following a brilliant forehand attack from Andy Murray. Djokovic saved it at the net and managed to hold.
A double fault from Murray in the next game however gave Djokovic a break and a 2-0 lead in the second set.
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4:05 p.m.
Andy Murray has won the first set of the French Open final against Novak Djokovic.
After breaking Murray's serve to love in the first game, errors crept into the top-ranked Serb's game.
Murray broke Djokovic in the second and fourth games.
With Murray serving for the match at 5-3, Djokovic wasn't happy when the chair umpire overuled a linesman on a Murray serve.
The umpire awarded Murray the point, saying the ball had caught the line.
Djokovic then netted a stroke on Murray's third set-point, to give the Scot the set at 6-3.
That could be a good omen for Murray: He has never beaten Djokovic after losing the first set in their 33 previous matches.
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3:35 p.m.
On a good day for the French at Roland Garros, Geoffrey Blancaneaux won the junior title in boys' singles after saving three match points. Blancaneaux defeated 11th-seeded Felix Auger Aliassime of Canada 1-6, 6-3, 8-6.
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3:25 p.m.
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have exchanged breaks of serve in the first two games of the French Open final.
Djokovic broke Murray to love in the first game.
Murray broke Djokovic in the next game with a lob that the Serb could only watch sail over his head.
Murray then held serve in the third game for an early 2-1 lead.
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3:10 p.m.
Spectators at the French Open men's final, many of them standing, have paid tribute to Muhammad Ali with a sustained bout of applause before the title match between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. A photo of Ali, who died Friday at age 74, was shown on the jumbo screen overlooking the Court Philippe Chatrier.
Djokovic told a TV interviewer that he is feeling ''a lot of emotion'' before the ''very important match.''
Murray said he's ''looking forward to it'' because ''these are matches you play for.''
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2:55 p.m.
Both Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray can lay down some significant career milestones by winning the men's final underway shortly at the French Open. A few key stats:
- Djokovic would become only the third man in history to win all four majors in a row. The others were Don Budge and Rod Laver, the last to win four consecutively, in 1962 and 1969.
- The Serb would also become only the eighth man - and, at 29, the second oldest after Andre Agassi - to complete the collection of all four titles in their careers. Among his contemporaries, only Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have also achieved that feat.
- But if he loses, Djokovic will become the first player to lose their first four Roland Garros finals. Federer also lost four, but interrupted that streak with a win in 2009.
- Murray would become Britain's first male French Open champion since Fred Perry in 1935.
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2:25 p.m.
The French pair of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic has secured a rare triumph for the home nation at the French Open, winning the women's doubles to give spectators on Court Philippe Chatrier a victory to cheer before they watch Andy Murray play Novak Djokovic in the men's final later on Sunday.
The fifth-seeded pair beat Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, the No. 7 seeds from Russia, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. The last French victors in women's doubles in the clay-court major at Roland Garros were Gail Chanfreau and Francoise Durr, who won in 1970 and then defended their title the following year.
Other French women have won with non-French partners since then. Mary Pierce lifted the trophy with Swiss player Martina Hingis in 2000 and Gail Lovera teamed with Fiorella Bonicelli from Uruguay to win in 1976.
France hasn't had much to cheer about of late in other competitions at Roland Garros, either. Nathalie Duchy was the last French winner in mixed doubles, paired with Andy Ram from Israel in 2007. The last full-French victorious mixed doubles pairing was Tatiana Golovin and Richard Gasquet in 2004.
Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin did win the men's doubles in 2014, but they were the first French champions since Yannick Noah and Henri Leconte in 1984.
Noah was the last French man to win the single's title, in 1983. Pierce was France's last women's singles champion, in 2000.
Mladenovic also won the junior title in girls' singles in 2009.
