With the Men’s Singles final set to take place on Sunday, we can look back and reflect on a tournament full of ups and downs, highs and lows for some players.
We look back at a eventful last three weeks (including qualifying).
Rafa looks set to be the King again. The Men’s Singles final does not take place until Sunday, but everything points to Nadal taking a record-breaking tenth title in Paris. The Spaniard has not dropped more than eight games in a match, with Robin Haase taking the most competitive result so far in a 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 drubbing. Benoit Paire, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Dominic Thiem all proved no match for the King of Clay, and Stan Wawrinka does not seem likely to much improve his poor record against Nadal on clay in tomorrow’s showdown.
Djokovic struggles continue. The World No.2 ( and that position could come under threat tomorrow), did manage to reach the quarter-finals of the slam that he won last year. However the manner of his defeat to Dominic Thiem will raise serious questions. His performances in earlier rounds particularly against Diego Schartzmann highlight that Djokovic is still searching for something. Andre Agassi will have a big job on his hands in trying to get Djokovic his mojo back. Djokovic’s rival Andy Murray can look back on a satisfactory tournament. Slow starts against Martin Klizan and Andrey Kuznetsov were followed by strong wins against Juan Martin del Potro, Karen Kachanov, and Kei Nishikori. A defeat in the semi-finals to Wawrinka represents a good run on what is the No.1’s weakest surface.
Familiar faces fall flat. Who would have thought that big names would go down so early? We have been accustomed to hearing the names Gilles Simon, David Ferrer, and Tomas Berdych deep in tournaments. Yet especially Ferrer and Berdych suffered very poor exits. Ferrer struggled past Donald Young before being ousted by Feliciano Lopez. Berdych fell to Karen Khachanov in round two. It might be in the end of a generation at the top levels.
French farce. Mats Wilander criticised the home effort on the men’s side, and certainly he has a point. Only Gael Monfils could perhaps come away with any credit, and even he fell rather meekly to Stan Wawrinka after a competitive first set. Poor tournaments for Gilles Simon, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Round 1) as well as Richard Gasquet and Lucas Pouille (Round 3) will not have left the home crowd impressed. With most of the home contingent ageing, with the exception of Pouille. France might have to say goodbye to some of the ageing stars soon, particularly with many struggling with injury. The future beyond Pouile is limited to Quentin Halys and Corentin Moutet.
Johnson’s emotional run. American Steve Johnson’s personal tragedy has made his run to the third round a great story. Johnson’s father passed away shortly before the tournament, but the American was able to honour his memory by equalling his best ever run at this event. Johnson’s emotions were clear for all to see, particularly after his second round win over Borna Coric, and he manged to give the most competitive match that Dominic Thiem faced before losing to Nadal (he won even more games against Thiem than defending champion Novak Djokovic managed.)
Promise of the future stars is still only promise. Few of the heralded Next Gen stars managed to make a big impression at Roland Garros. Karen Khachanov was the most successful, reaching the fourth round. Alexander Zverev will be very disappointed with a first round exit after his Rome win, though fell unlucky in having drawn Fernando Verdasco in the first round. Frances Tiafoe also had a tough draw with Fabio Fognini. Casper Ruud the talented Norwegian failed to even make out of qualifying. The future might nearly be here, but at the very top of the game at least, it still is some distance away for most.
