Wilander: Drought Drains French Title Hopes

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Wilander: Drought Drains French Title Hopes

It's been 34 years since Yannick Noah swept Mats Wilander to stand as the last Frenchman to rule Roland Garros.

The longer the drought continues, the harder it will be for a Frenchman to win Paris, Wilander told Reuters.

Q & A: Alexander Zverev

“I think the longer it (the drought) goes on, the harder it gets. Yannick transcended sport in the way that Andre Agassi did, and Bjorn Borg," Wilander told Reuters. "Kids who would otherwise have played soccer wanted to play tennis. But the longer it goes without a grand slam champion, the smaller the pool of kids you influence.”

The French Open didn't allow foreigners to compete for the title until 1925. Aussie Jack Crawford became the first non-French player to win in Paris in 1933 when he beat Henri Cochet in the final.

Since then only ten French males have won the title, with Noah being the last French champion, and Henri Leconte (1988) being the last French finalist on the men's side.

During the last decade, only two Frenchmen—Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga—have reached the Roland Garros semifinals. Wilander believes French players are better all-court players now, but lack the comfort level on clay that the attacking Noah enjoyed.

"I think French players are more complete now. I don’t think you have seen a true French clay courter since Yannick Noah," Wilander said. "Yannick was so athletic and moved so well. That’s why he was a clay courter even though he came to the net so much. Today, their best surface generally isn’t clay."

The Hall of Famer also attributes French struggles to the immense pressure French players feel playing their home Slam before a frequently fickle fan base.

"No person in tennis can understand the pressure on a player from Britain, the US, from Australia nor especially, I think, from France," Wilander told Reuters.

Photo credit: sport24 lefigaro fr

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