They played at Roland Garros a few years ago, they are now back in Paris as coaches, TV commentators or are taking part to the Legends trophy, and with this new trend of great champions turning to coaching, there’s plenty of past champions to see around the grounds at Roland Garros.
6-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker, coach of Novak Djokovic:
Goran Ivanisevic, quarterfinalist in 1990, the year he beat then world No 1 Stefan Edberg in the first round. He now coaches Marin Cilic:
Sergi Bruguera, winner in 1993 and 1994, coach of Richard Gasquet:
Magnus Norman, finalist in 2000, coach of Stanislas Wawrinka:
Michael Chang, winner in 1989 and coach of Kei Nishikori:
Martina Hingis, finalist in 1997 and 1999. She coaches Sabine Lisicki:
Sébastien Grosjean, semi-finalist at Roland Garros in 2001, coach of Richard Gasquet:
Fabrice Santoro, doubles finalist in 2004, interviews players after their matches:
Kim Clijsters and Martina Navratilova, playing doubles together:
Iva Majoli, Roland Garros champion in 1997:
Anastasia Myskina, first ever female Russian player to win a Grand Slam title (Roland Garros in 2004):
Former world number one Lindsay Davenport and Mary Joe Fernandez, 1993 French Open runner-up:
1998 Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna:
Natasha Zvereva, runner-up in that famous 1988 final against Steffi Graf:
Nathalie Tauziat and Conchita Martinez practising on court 15, they play the Legends Trophy together:
Martinez is now captain of the Spanish Fed Cup team. Tauziat is the former coach of Eugénie Bouchard (below a picture of them two at Roland Garros last year), she now coaches Aleksandra Wozniak:
Gaston Gaudio, surprise winner in 2004:
Thomas Enqvist and Carlos Moya, Roland Garros champion in 1998:
Albert Costa, winner in 2002. He is currently coaching Feliciano Lopez.
Cédric Pioline interviewing Maria Sharapova after her victory over Eugénie Bouchard:
Finally some live tennis! My first live tournament of the year!
My first memories of Roland Garros are from the early 80’s, watching Lendl, Wilander, Navratilova, and Evert battle on one of the 3 French TV channels. And of course like every French people, I remember Noah’s historic win over Wilander in 1983, his overwhelming joy and his run to embrace his father.
Leconte booed during the trophy presentation in 1988, Edberg heartbreaking defeat against Chang in 1989, Agassi flashy outfits, Graf-Seles breathtaking final in 1992, Guga samba tennis in 1997… Time flies.
May 2004: my first trip to Roland Garros. Agassi, Safin, Ferrero, the Williams sisters, I finally got to see some of the best tennis players I had watched for years on TV.
Marat Safin, 2004:
Fabrice Santoro and Peter Lundgren, 2004:
Juan Carlos Ferrero, 2004:
From then I was hooked, and Roland Garros 2004 was the first of many tournaments I’ve attended over the years: the US Open, the Queen’s, Bercy, the Lagardère Trophy, the Optima Open, the Open GDF Suez and of course Roland Garros (in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012).
Roger Federer, 2006:
Novak Djokovic, 2008:
Court Philippe Chatrier, 2010:
The excitement of the first tournaments slowly let place to a kind of “been there, done that” feeling, but there’s
nothing like watching a sporting event courtside. Not only can you see and hear everything as it happens, but you also really feel part of the event. Of course, you don’t get the benefit of all those fancy TV replays and close-ups but you avoid annoying commentary.
One of the best thing is court-hopping. Wandering around the grounds with a simple 24€ pass, you get to see as much or as little of the event as you want: watch Sharapova practicing on court 12, Hewitt playing on court 7 or a Goerges-Stosur doubles match on court 16.
I’ll be onsite the first week, covering the tournament for Tennis Buzz but also guest posting for Grand Slam Gal.
I was at Roland Garros today, not for the womens final because I didn’t manage to get tickets (by the way, congrats to Na Li for her historic victory) but for the Trophée des Légendes.
But first, on Court 7 today, an exhibition between Jim Courier, Andre Agassi, Mansour Bahrami and young players of the Longines Future Tennis Aces tournament.
The Legends Trophy (Trophée des Légendes) is a great opportunity to watch some familiar old faces play in a friendly and funny atmosphere. Two men competitions are scheduled: players under 45 and over 45.
Six teams take part in each competition, divided into two pools of three teams. The winners of each pool meet in final.
And for the second year there will also be a women competition, with 3 former world number one (Navratilova, Hingis and Davenport).
Under 45:
Pool A: Enqvist/Muster, Kafelnikov/Medvedev, Boetsch/Pioline
Pool B: Ivanisevic/Stich, Santoro/Woodbridge, Bruguera/Krajicek
Over 45:
Pool A: Gomez/McEnroe, Cash/McNamara, Pernfors/Wilander
Pool B: Bahrami/Woodforde, Nastase/Sanchez, Forget/Leconte
Women:
Pool A: Navratilova/Novotna, Maleeva/Tauziat, Majoli/Martinez
Pool B: Davenport/Hingis, Zvereva/Gigi Fernandez, Temesvari/Testud
Some pics of Peter McNamara and Pat Cash training yesterday:
I feel like I’m back from tennis heaven: I spent the afternoon in Paris watching Lendl, Wilander, McEnroe and Edberg play. Here’s a quick recap in photos:
First match between old rivals: Ivan Lendl vs Mats Wilander. This match marks Lendl’s return to the competition.
I must say I’ve been quite impressed by Lendl and Wilander‘s playing level. Mats’ court coverage is amazing and Ivan’s forehand is powerful and precise.
