French Open record: Nadals cheers, Swiatek's wardrobe, the double defending champions
The 2020 French Open are history. We have put together a few observations from the 15 days when the main field went to work in Roland Garros.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Oct 12, 2020, 07:57 am
If the men's final is Rafael Nadal against Novak Djokovic , it can be said that the changing of the guard, which has been invoked over and over again, did not occur in Paris either. At the US Open, Dominic Thiem, the player who is closest to the two best players in the world, prevailed. But then Nadal was also the first opponent to beat Djokovic in a sporting way this year. The closest thing to winning a set against the 13-time champion was Jannik Sinner .
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If memories are not deceptive, then this year Rafa made a premiere in terms of jubilation. In his past victories, the Spaniard liked to conjure up snow angels in the Parisian sand, this time he went down on his knees like the great Björn Borg once did.
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Special praise should go to Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas : First of all, for giving everything in Hamburg until the very end. Then for the fact that they fought their way back in round one in Roland Garros after a 2-0 set deficit (Sam Querrey even played against Rublev for the match). As the devil of the draw played, there was a reunion in the quarter-finals. The path of one of the two inevitably had to come to an end.
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Jürgen Melzer remains the only player who managed to beat Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam tournament after a 2-0 set deficit: it happened in 2010 in Roland Garros. Stefanos Tsitsipas at least tried in the semi-finals, but had no chance against the industry leader in the decision. Like 214 other opponents against whom Djokovic won the first set in Grand Slam tournaments.
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The three-quarter trousers celebrated a brilliant comeback in the late French Open edition. In different versions: single winner Iga Swiatek has consistently shown herself in white, double winner Timea Babos mixed orange with white.
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Simona Halep's appearances in Roland Garros in 2019 and 2020 are somewhat puzzling, especially since she traveled to Paris as a clear favorite on both occasions. But neither against Amanda Anisimova almost 16 months ago nor against Iga Swiatek a few days ago, Halep had the slightest chance when they were eliminated.
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That both victorious double pairings (Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies or Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic) entered the race as defending champions, this coincidence did not yet exist at the French Open in the Open Era. Before Krawietz / Mies, Daniel Nestor and Max Mirnyi (2011/2012) were able to successfully defend their title. For women, it was Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascal. At Wimbledon, on the other hand, there were the same winners for men and women in about 2008 and 2009: Daniel Nestor with Nenad Zimjonic and Serena and Venus Williams. The double winners at Wimbledon between 1984 and 1984 were always: Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver or John McEnroe and Peter Fleming.
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The well-known critical residents of the Stade Roland Garros have had their first experiences with floodlit games. However, without the crowds, who under normal circumstances would have watched the matches until late in the evening. But maybe tournament boss Guy Forget, who is already planning night sessions for Court Philippe-Chatrier, has found a good understanding with those people who have resisted evening tennis for years.
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As a side note: Of course, you couldn't count manually, but apparently the final between Nadal and Djokovic was attended by more than 1,000 spectators.
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It took a long time with the roof over the chatrier. And it has never been more important than in a year that played well into October. At least for the planning security of the TV stations. There is of course no question that a single covered court in week one of a major cannot be enough to bring the matches of the first rounds over the stage in the event of continuous rain.
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