One of summer’s functions is to remind us that there are other sports than football, especially in an odd year with no tournaments. I couldn’t let Sunday’s conclusion to French Open pass by without a note, as to my mind it’s been one of the most compelling Slams in recent times.
Going into it we had a wealth of sub-plots: could Nadal, the King of Roland Garros, lift himself to hold back the challengers for another year? Would a kind draw enable Federer to push back the sunset of his career? Would Murray be finally a contender on clay, having had a fantastic run-up? And then the main plot: would this be Career Slam moment for Djokovic – a two-time losing finalist, both against Nadal.
One by one we had those questions answered in a second week where every day seemed to bring another fantastic match. First we had Federer, comfortable up to that point, blasted out in straight sets by Wawrinka – a man who had featured in few pre-tournament write-ups as a possible winner. This match was the first indication that Wawrinka’s single-handed backhand was capable of blasting opponents away. Then Djokovic/Nadal – a showdown in the quarters that felt like a final, and for three sets Djokovic played his game to perfection, big serves, endless running and flat winners pinged down the line and cross-court. Nadal looked bewildered as the reality of the mens game: that no-one can live with Djokovic, caught up with him. Will we ever see Nadal win again? In the other stand-out quarter Murray played a controlled match to down Ferrer, a recent finalist and clay-court specialist.
To the semis. Another unfancied challenger, Tsonga, had quietly made it through the draw, and the French audience sniffed a first home finalist since 1988. It wasn’t a classic, and swung back and forth in 32 degree heat. But Wawrinka found enough of his big winners to put the pressure on Tsonga, who had no reply. In the other final Djokovic carried out against Murray for two sets as he had against Nadal, at a level where the opponent had little say in the match. Credit to Murray for grinding out the third – for the first time we could see that Djokovic was not unplayable, and that he could be rattled. After a slow start to the conclusion on the Saturday Djokovic once more reached top form to blow Murray away in the fourth 6-1. As so many have before, Murray looked powerless to stop Djokovic just carry the match away from him.
Yesterday’s final brought all these stories to a head – and after a cautious first set in which Djokovic was able to play the way he wanted, picking off Wawrinka, Wawrinka started hitting the huge backhand and forehands that are unreturnable. Game by game you could see Djokovic’s game crumble, his serve slow down, and his approachbecome increasingly defensive. He must have thought that this level of play was unsustainable, and that Stan the Man would let the pressure get to him, as it clearly had to Djokovic himself. It never happened. Wawrinka hit 60 outright winners to Djokovic’s 30, a single statistic that tells you how well the Swiss played and how defensive Djokovic was for the concluding three sets. His backhand down the line winners to break for 5-4 and then for the win at 6-4 were just astonishing, shots executed in the moment of maximum pressure every bit as extra-ordinary as a Messi dribble and dink.
So thanks ITV4 (not a thing I thought I would ever say). We move to Wimbledon in a post-Federer and Nadal era in the mens. Will Djokovic and the French become what Wimbledon was to Llendl – every year seeing him become more desperate to win, but a bit further away from it. From Stan’s shorts onwards a great tournament. I didn’t see much of the womens, but just note how extraordinary an athlete Serena is, and how she’s homing in on Graf’s record of the most slams in the Open era.
French Open – one of the best tournaments ever?
by 8 Comments
Nice to see another tennis geek here! One correction I must make, as it illustrates just how well Murray is playing at the moment: he also took the fourth set (7-5), and it was only in the fifth that Djokovic was finally able to pull away.
I love watching Stan The Man play. I have long thought that, when on sustained form, nobody can live with him. He’s come tantalisingly close before: 3 or 4 years ago at the Australian Open, he played Djokovic in the semi final and for the first two and a half sets wiped the floor with him; he was simply too good even for a Djokovic on top form. On that occasion, he couldn’t keep up that level, and the relentless cyborg reeled him in. Yesterday Stan kept his foot on the gas and that was that.
I saw plenty of the women’s matches too, and there was much to celebrate there as well: the success of the excellent Timea Bacsinszky would have been noteworthy even without her extraordinary history, which two years ago saw her virtually retired and working as a hotel receptionist. The late blooming of Lucie Safarova, who may yet win a major. And of course the amazing force of nature that is Serena Williams, who may be a bit of a drama queen, occasionally unnecessarily disrespectful of her opponents, but whose power, skill and resilience demand admiration.
Roll on the grass season, when you will find me on Centre Court at Wimbledon on day 3…
slip of the pen, Murray of course won the 3-game shootout in the fourth at the restart of Saturday – itself an extraordinary moment as he could have been out in under ten minutes of restarting.
One thought that occurred to me is that year-on-year the surface is becoming less and less a factor. Go back twenty years and Pete Sampras was serve-and-volleying at Wimbledon while Brugera and Kuerten were example of clay court specialists who would get nowhere on grass.
Now we have two players playing who have won all four Slams, and a clay court specialist like Ferrer seems like a relic from an earlier age.
Chuffed for Stan. Been a fan for a few years. Fellow Swiss Federer has long been the barrier he’s needed to break through to give him the final piece of self-belief. Some felt his Australian triumph was due to Nadal’s injury, but this was the real deal.
Tennis. Would be the dullest sport in the world if it wasn’t for golf. Perfect antidote to insomnia IMHO. OOAA.
Not sure why the count needs to express his dislike of something on a thread that is praising it.
I didn’t see much l, but it was an excellent tournament. Interesting that Stan occasionally turns up and wins a Slam and has now equalled Murray who has been there or thereabouts for a decade.
The era is ending, Federer and Nadal going down, Murray needs to get one of the next two or be forever stuck on 2 I think. Stan could be a force in Paris for a few years
So sorry to upset you. Hadn’t realised it was a tennis thread. I’ll comment as I see fit, thank you.
If you see a thread about tennis (or anything else) entitled “one of the best ever”., then it is childish, churlish and pointless to come on it and say *you* hate the game. What relevance does that have? Do you dislike other people talking about it? Why not post about something you do like?
I have to thank my girlfriend for reintroducing me to the delights of tennis. I’d given up watching it during the dull ’90s era and only started watching again a few years ago because she was so obsessed by it. We are living through the greatest era in men’s tennis, with probably three of the greatest players ever to play the game. We’ve been to Wimbledon a few times now and, last year, had a short holiday in Paris for the tennis.
She’s actually met several of them, getting autographs and selfies. Judging by these brief encounters, Nadal and Tsonga are sweethearts, Federer is a nice guy, Wozniacki is an absolute sweetheart and Sharapova is an absolutely miserable cow.
Enjoyed the tournament, but thought Andy could have taken Novak if the match had gone to a conclusion on Friday evening. Pleased for Stan though. Wonderful backhand and thunderous forehand. Hoping Andy might sneak Wimbledon as Federer and Rafa seem to be in decline. Loving it while it lasts.