The Paris Tennis Open concluded on June 11 with a solid victory by the world number 1, Novak Djokovic among the men, the day after Barbora Krejcikova’s win among the women.
Besides the Serbian’s second victory in Paris (who now has 19 Grand Slam titles, one less than Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer), and the first major singles victory of the Czech, other events marked this 2021 edition of Roland Garros.
Top: The French in doubles
In tears, lying on the clay court of Philippe-Chatrier, Nicolas Mahut realized just the magnitude of the exploit he had just accomplished with his partner and friend, Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The French duo just defeated, in front of their home crowd, the Kazakhs Andrey Golubev and Alexander Bublik (4-6, 7-6, 6-4) in the men’s doubles final at Roland Garros. By adding a new line to their already well-stocked record of 5 Grand Slam titles (US Open 2015, Wimbledon 2016, Roland-Garros 2018, and the Australian Open 2019), the tricolors set a record that makes them the best pair in French tennis history. To leave an even more lasting impression, the two have already set their sights on their next big goal: an Olympic medal at the Tokyo Games this summer.
Flop: The French in singles
While Mahut and Herbert’s performance in doubles was historic, on the singles side, it was too, but in the wrong sense: at the end of the first week, all the French players in the running (11 women and 17 men) had already been eliminated. Tsonga, Gasquet, Monfils, Mladenovic, Garcia, and even the Niçoise Fiona Ferro, the French number 1 in the WTA rankings, have all fallen, marking the worst result in French tennis at Roland Garros. The first time there were no French players in the round of 16 at the French Open dates back to 1925. This sad observation may force a reassessment on the part of French tennis, which used to shine in the past.
Top: The battle of titans Nadal vs Djokovic
This semi-final felt more like a final. The clash between Novak Djokovic, world number 1, and Rafael Nadal, thirteen-time winner of Roland Garros, lived up to spectator expectations. The two players displayed an impressive quality of play that offered an epic technical and physical spectacle, concluded by a comeback from the Serbian against the clay court specialist in 4h11 (3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2). “Djoko” once again confirmed his place among the Big Three of tennis, as shown by the figures on the Statista site.
Flop: Early exits of Federer and Osaka
They caused a mini-earthquake by exiting the competition quickly. Naomi Osaka, world number 2, withdrew before her second round, giving in to the media pressure she deemed too significant. Meanwhile, Roger Federer, the tennis legend, also chose to withdraw before his 8th final, wanting to slow down his return to competition after two knee surgeries. The current world number 8 quickly turned towards the 2021 Wimbledon Championships in London from June 28 to July 11, where he will be highly anticipated by tennis fans and bookmakers alike. Specialists have even evaluated the Swiss’ final victory odds at 9. He ranks among the top favorites on the tennis betting site Betway (figures from June 16). Unfortunately for the Japanese player, she was also among the top players before announcing her withdrawal from the competition a few days after the end of the French Open.
Top: The promising revelations
Tennis fans can rejoice : the future of the sport looks bright. Reaching the final, Stefanos Tsitsipas impressed with his flair and winning spirit. The Greek, already ranked 4th in the ATP rankings, emerged as a serious contender for a number 1 spot in the near future. Another revelation of the tournament is Lorenzo Musetti. The Italian gave Novak Djokovic a good scare, leading him two sets to nothing in the round of 16 before experiencing a rapid return to reality, which forced him to retire (7-6, 7-6, 1-6, 0-6, 0-4). His breathtaking technical shots during the 100% Italian 16th final against Cecchinato also left a lasting impression.
The 2021 edition of Roland-Garros, the 125th in the history of the French Open, will go down in history as one of the most spectacular, both refreshing and unpredictable.
