{"id":2189,"date":"2017-05-12T09:21:49","date_gmt":"2017-05-12T13:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/?p=2189"},"modified":"2017-08-22T17:33:08","modified_gmt":"2017-08-22T21:33:08","slug":"finest-french-open-mens-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2017\/05\/12\/finest-french-open-mens-finals\/","title":{"rendered":"The Five Finest French Open Men\u2019s Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Countdown to Roland Garros: <\/em><\/strong>In the second part of our series building up to the French Open<\/a>, Last Word on Tennis looks back at the greatest French Open Men\u2019s Finals.<\/em><\/p>\n

The French Open<\/strong> is probably the most physically demanding Grand Slam<\/strong> event to win, with the famous red clay sticking to players\u2019 shoes and shirts and draining them of energy. That is true of even the most run-of-the-mill first round match, but a men\u2019s singles final in Paris<\/strong> is perhaps the ultimate test of a player, punishingly probing not only their tennis skills but their athleticism and stamina. Here are the five finest French Open men’s finals.<\/p>\n

5. 2004: Gast\u00f3n Gaudio beats Guillermo Coria (0\u20136, 3\u20136, 6\u20134, 6\u20131, 8\u20136)<\/h2>\n

Such has been Rafael Nadal\u2019s<\/strong> dominance of the French Open since he first won it in 2005 that it is arguable there have not been any great Paris finals since he came to the fore. Even the great Roger Federer<\/strong> has been unable to extend him to five sets in any of the four French finals that they have played. So one has to go back to the last tournament before the “Rafa era” began to find the last truly great French Open men\u2019s final.<\/p>\n

The 2004 French final between two Argentine clay court specialists \u2013 Gast\u00f3n Gaudio<\/strong> and Guillermo Coria<\/strong> \u2013 was extraordinary in many ways but it was most notable because there have been few bigger underdogs in a Grand Slam final than Gaudio that year. Guillermo Coria was the red-hot favourite on the red dirt, because for a brief period \u2013 between Gustavo Kuerten\u2019s<\/strong> hat-trick of French Open\u00a0titles and Rafa Nadal\u2019s astonishing feat of winning nine<\/em> French Opens \u2013 he was the best clay court player in the world. He had demonstrated that convincingly in the semi-final, when he beat Britain\u2019s Tim Henman<\/strong> in four sets, including a 6-0 third set. Henman, of course, was a grass court specialist \u2013 he was one of the last true serve-volleyers in the game \u2013 but he was a redoubtable competitor on all surfaces and Coria\u2019s superb and graceful despatching of him installed him as most people\u2019s pick for the title, especially as he was facing Gast\u00f3n Gaudio and not David Nalbandian<\/strong>, a former Wimbledon finalist who Gaudio surprisingly beat in straight sets in their semi-final.<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n