French Open 2022: The jack of all trades and the young excitement

15 days of main draw action at the 2022 French Open have left their mark. A small balance sheet.

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• The fact that Mats Wilander can do everything, really everything, is no longer a secret in tennis circles. However, the fact that the great Swede did not lose track of all his activities in Roland Garros earns us the greatest respect. For example, 40 years after his first individual triumph at the French Open, Wilander conducted on-court interviews for the spectators in the stadium. Worked as an expert for Eurosport. Of course, also took part in the legends tournament. And handed over the winner's trophy to Iga Swiatek on Saturday. A jack of all trades, no doubt.
• Who else was on the road as an expert in the TV compound and on the squares? A loose list: Alex Corretja, Marc Rosset, Martina Navratilova, Chanda Rubin, Christopher Kas, Fabrice Santoro, Marion Bartoli, Guy Forget. And more.
• The design of the Night Sessions has certainly not yet been fully discussed. Who, when, how many, we will see in the coming years. What is striking, however, is that the previously announced music act, which was supposed to herald the evening festival, did not take place.
• The annual honorable mention of the ball children should not be missing. Remarkable: How the girls and boys warm up before their assignments. All together early in the morning when the game is going on in small groups.

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• Would Paris be worth less without points? Sure: If Alexander Zverev had won Roland Garros, he would have jumped to first place in the world rankings. But whether 2,000 points are awarded to the winner or not: a major win is enough in itself.
• Will that also apply to Wimbledon? Naturally. However, a very thin field is to be expected there. Due to the exclusion of the Russian and Belarusian players and various injuries.
• Could the young players please calm down a bit, especially the males? Holger Rune texted his box and his mother off the court after every single point. And the junior final was no different: the energy with which Gabriel Debru and Gilles Arnaud Bailly turned to their supervisors (again: after every single point) would have been enough for another tournament.
• But it is important to keep this in mind: The final of the juniors on the almost full Simonne-Mathieu court was one of the best in terms of atmosphere during the entire two weeks of the tournament.
• Speaking of young players: Coco Gauff should have been able to compete in the juniors. But she a) already won the title here in 2018 and b) is good enough to reach the final in both singles and doubles.
• If rain is the great equalizer in Formula 1, then in tennis the grass could be the surface that brings the field closer to Iga Swiatek . On the other hand: Just as Swiatek flies over hard and clay courts, you shouldn't underestimate her on grass either.

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• The makers of the French tennis magazine had a hunch. And fully counted on another deep run of the record champion. Rightly.
• The enumeration of the years in which Rafael Nadal has now won his 14 titles in Roland Garros by stadium announcer Marc Maury is a mood maker that gets every audience going.
• Of course: when Rafael Nadal plays on the Philippe-Chatrier court, he enjoys the greatest support of any player in the world at a Grand Slam tournament anyway. At most, Andy Murray would be close at Wimbledon.
• A closed roof may distort the conditions at an outdoor tournament. But the volume of Nadal's converted set ball against Alexander Zverev? No longer included on any scale.
• The last lasting memory from the final itself: That felt like half of the spectators had pulled out their cell phones at Nadal's second match point to capture the historic moment. Rock concert do not mind.

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• The journalists received a quality drinking bottle from a Swiss manufacturer, and the players received enough containers that were refilled again and again. Good this way. Because the plastic waste that has accumulated in recent years, not only in Roland Garros, is a thing of the past.