One year after his surprising defeat to Andres Gomez, Andre Agassi was back in Roland Garros final, trying to capture his first Grand Slam title. His opponent in final: Jim Courier, a guy he grew up with at the Bolletieri academy.

Extract of Andre Agassi‘s autobiography Open:

“At the 1991 French Open I batter my way through six rounds and reach the final. My third slam final. I’m facing Courier and I’m favored. Everyone says I’ll beat him. I need to beat him. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to make three slam finals in a row and not win.
The good news is I know how to beat Courier. I beat him just last year at this same tournament. The bad news is, it’s personal, which makes me tight. We began in the same place, in the same barracks at the Bolletieri Academy, our bunk beds a feet apart. I was so much better than Courier, so much more favored by Nick, that losing to him in the final of a slam will feel like the hare losing to the tortoise. Bad enough that Chang has won a slam before me. And Pete. But Courier too? I can’t let that happen.

Read the rest of this entry →

Steffi’s last Grand Slam win: Graf defeats Hingis 4-6 7-5 6-2

A must see match, not really for the quality of the match, but for all the drama. I remember watching this match on TV way back in 99. Never seen such a crazy match before.
Hingis, was the clear favorite to win the title: at only 19, the then world number 1 was seeking the only Grand Slam still missing to her collection. Graf, 29, was playing her first Grand Slam final since her victory against rival Monica Seles at the 96 US Open.

Everything started well for the Swiss Miss, leading 6-4 2-0, but the drama started and a single point completely changed the course of the match. Hingis disputed a line call and went round the net to Steffi’s side to show the ball mark.

Read the rest of this entry →

What a strange Roland Garros this year, with very few intense battles, insipid semifinals but a flamboyant first time winner.

The Good:

- Francesca Schiavone:

- Sam Stosur

- Robin Soderling: Ex-bad boy Robin Soderling finished runner-up for the second year in a row. He once again impressed the tennis world with his amazing win over defending champion Roger Federer. But unfortunately for him, he didn’t really get into the final against Rafa: “I didn’t play as good as I did last year. I didn’t serve so well. I wasn’t hitting the ball as clean. You know, I had some chances in the beginning, but I didn’t take them. And then he won the first and then played really well in the second, so then, you know, that’s about… “

- Jurgen Melzer: The big surprise in the men’s draw. More famous for his girlfriends (Myskina, Cibulkova…) than for his game, Melzer reached the semifinals of a major for the first time of his career after his surprising wins over David Ferrer and Novak Djokovic.

The Bad:

- French players: What a disaster! The best frenchman was Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who was forced to retire in the 4th round against Mikhail Youzhny. Monfils was beaten by Fognini, Gasquet by Murray. There was not a single in the second week. A disaster.

- Svetlana Kuznetsova: Just 3 words: waste of talent.

- Dinara Safina: The worst performance of this French Open is without a doubt the loss of former number one Dinara Safina to Kimiko Date. Safina lead by one set and 2 breaks, and then 4-1 in the third set, but she self imploded and offered the match to the japanese veteran. It was Date’s first Grand Slam victory since the 1996 US Open.

The King:

Rafael Nadal

Francesca Schiavone is without a doubt the most surprising but also one of the most deserving Grand Slam winner. After a 12 year carrer, she conquered Roland Garros but also the italian hearts.

Her historical made the headlines in Italy. There was a 4-page report in La Gazzetta Sportiva on Sunday, with stories about her childhood, interviews of Francesca’s parents but also of Nicola Pietrangeli and Adriano Panatta both former Roland Garros winner (1959 and 1960 for Pietrangeli, 1976 for Panatta).

Her improbable and incredible run also inspired Marcello Lippi, Italy’s football national coach: “I want 11 Schiavone [for the World Cup]“

A really emotional victory for Rafa who dominated Robin Soderling in straight sets 6-4 6-2 6-4. Nadal captured his fifth Roland Garros crown, his 7th Grand Slam title.

He remains undefeated on clay this year, and he also reclaimed the number one ranking, denying his biggest rival Roger Federer the all time record for weeks at No. 1

Rafa’s Grand Slam titles:
You can click on the column to sort by year, championship, surface…