Now, the only point of discussion among the tennis lovers around the globe is who's gonna win the French Open Title, whether its Rafael Nadal or the elegant Roger Federer. Before putting your predictions, it will be good to know the history behind the prestigeous Grand Slam Tennis Tournament and why its special.
Roland Garros, also known as the French Open, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between mid-May and early June in Paris, France. It is the second of the Grand Slam tournaments on the annual tennis calendar (Australian Open is the first one) and is the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world.
Roland Garros began as a national tournament in 1891. In 1925, the French Championships opened itself to international competitors with the event held on a grass surface alternately between the Racing Club de France and the Stade Français. For the 1928 Davis Cup challenge, a new tennis stadium was built at Porte d’Auteuil. Named for a hero of World War I, the new Stade de Roland Garros, and Court Philippe Chatrier, was built with a red clay ("terre battue") playing surface. In March 2007, Roland Garros announced that it will provide an equal amount of prize money for both men and women in all rounds
Why Pete Sampras(total 14 grand slam wins) could not win French Open. Why Jimmy Connors (won all the other grand slams) could not win at Roland-Garros.
The reason, clay courts slow down the ball and produce a high bounce when compared to grass courts or hard courts. Clay court specialists have evolved who often succeed here while many higher ranked players struggle.
The last 7 French Open Titles were won by men who did not win any other Grand slams. So, this will tell story, right..???
This years final is the carbon copy of yester year where these 2 players clashed against each other and Nadal was crowned. One more thing, in 2005 also, Nadal was the champion (defeated Marianofrom Puerta Argentina) here and now he is looking for a hat-Trick at Roland Garros. From April 2005 to May 2007, he won 81 consecutive clay court matches. He is currently undefeated in the French Open.But, at the Hamburg Masters (last month), Nadal's clay court winning streak came to an end, when he lost the final to Federer 2-6, 6-2, 6-0.
For Federer has already won the three Grand slams except French Open. So, he has a point to prove to the critics that, he is the greatest tennis player by winning all the French Opens and more number of Grand slams. In his current form, he can easily defeat Nadal. The pressure will definitely be on Federer to win the match. But, we all know how cool this guy is when it comes to handling pressure.
So, all the tennis fans can expect a Royal Fight @ Roland Garros, tomorrow(10-Jun-2007) @ 15.00
Player Profiles
Singles performance timeline
Tournament 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Career SR Career Win-Loss
Australian Open A A 3 R 4R A QF 0 / 3 9-3
French Open A A A W W 2 / 2 14-0
Wimbledon A 3 R A 2R 0 / 3 9-3
U.S. Open A 2R 2R 3R QF 0 / 4 8-4
Tournament 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Carr. win-loss
Grand Slams
Australian Open A A 3R 3R 4R 4R W SF W W 6-5
French Open A 1R 4R QF 1R 1R 3R SF F 20-8
Wimbledon A 1R 1R QF 1R W W W W 2-4
U.S. Open A A 3R 4 R 4R 4R W W W 1-4
A = did not participate in the tournament.
SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
For more details, logon to http://www.rolandgarros.com/
