{"id":36199,"date":"2021-05-22T08:30:58","date_gmt":"2021-05-22T12:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=36199"},"modified":"2021-05-21T18:33:02","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T22:33:02","slug":"five-historic-french-opens-and-why-the-2021-edition-will-be-historic-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2021\/05\/22\/five-historic-french-opens-and-why-the-2021-edition-will-be-historic-too\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Historic French Opens (And Why The 2021 Edition Will Be Historic Too)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Martin Keady, our resident tennis historian, looks back at five of the most memorable French Opens and explains why the 2021 edition should also be unforgettable.<\/em><\/p>\n

After a European clay-court season that has been doubly enjoyable following the rescheduling or cancellation of most clay-court events last year, the stage is set for the second Major of the year \u2013 the French Open. And there is every chance that this year\u2019s tournament will become one of the most historic in the 130 years since the French Championships (as it was called before the Open era) was first played. Either Rafael Nadal will win his 14th<\/sup> French Open title and in the process set a new record of 21 for total Majors won by a man (breaking the tie that he is currently in with Roger Federer) or, after nearly a decade and a half of dominance by the great Spaniard, someone will finally break his stranglehold on Roland Garros.<\/p>\n

For now, Nadal remains the overwhelming favourite to retain his French title, because overall he has had a very impressive build-up to Roland Garros. He may have lost early on in Monte Carlo, but he recovered brilliantly to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas (the Monte Carlo Champion) in a truly classic three-set final in Barcelona. Then, after his fairly customary woes in Madrid, where the altitude makes it the fastest clay-court event in the world and therefore ultimately unsuitable for Nadal, he also triumphed in Rome, winning another titanic three-set Final against his greatest rival on clay, Novak Djokovic.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Nadal’s rivals, including Djokovic, can still take heart. For one thing, whatever happens in Paris, it is surely impossible that Djokovic will have to play two matches the day before he faces Nadal. That was what he had to in Rome, after rain in the Italian capital meant that he had to complete his quarterfinal and play the entire semi-final less than 24 hours before playing Nadal in the Final. So, although Djokovic has not won a clay-court event this year in the run-up to the French Open, he is still the man most likely to give Nadal a run for his money at Roland Garros.<\/p>\n

The next most likely contender is the man who won in Monte Carlo and, even more importantly, nearly beat Nadal in Barcelona – Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek has done well again this week in Lyon, one of the final warm-up events before the French Open, and looks the best of the younger players to go deep in Paris. However, Andrey Rublev (if he can finally get past the quarterfinal stage at a Major) and perhaps even Jannik Sinner, a quarterfinalist in Paris on his debut last year, might also make a splash, figuratively speaking, on the red dirt. And if Dominic Thiem can somehow get himself fully fit before the tournament starts (a big if after his stuttering performances so far this season), as a US Open Champion and two-time Roland Garros runner-up he definitely has the potential to make another run at the title.<\/p>\n

For now, though, Nadal undoubtedly looks like the man to beat, and these previous Paris classics (listed in chronological order) remain the five most memorable French Opens to date.<\/p>\n

1.1968: The First French Open<\/strong><\/p>\n

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