By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday June 10, 2019
The 2019 clay-court season was a wild ride and it culminated in an even wilder Paris fortnight. Before we turn our focus to the grass, let’s take a moment to bask in the glory of #RG19.
Here’s 20 rapid fire takes from the Roland Garros that was.
1. Rafa reigns supreme—again
Will the King of Clay ever cease to amaze us? That day may yet come, but for now Rafael Nadal on clay is still tennis’ No.1 mind-blower. The 33-year-old triumphantly trampled the field once again in Paris and claimed his 12th Roland Garros crown by taking out Dominic Thiem in four sets in Sunday’s final. We ran out of superlatives to describe Nadal’s greatness on this surface back when he won his eighth title at Roland Garros—These days we’re having to dig into the thesaurus with each passing victory (93 of them at Roland Garros, against two losses, if you’re scoring at home)
In reality, there are no words to properly explain Nadal’s dominance on clay and at Roland Garros. How he keeps coming up with new ways to beat back his fiercest competitors is beyond us. And as he tacks on titles in Paris, the chasm between his legacy on clay and the legacy of every other tennis player on their best surface continues to grow. There is no better tennis player than Rafael Nadal on clay—never has been, never will be. End of story.
2. Ash Barty hits all the high notes
We knew the moment she began her comeback from a spell as a professional cricket player that we had a special one in Ash Barty. But we didn’t have any idea that she was THIS good. The Aussie was a steadying force in an otherwise chaotic fortnight on the women’s side, playing superbly on a surface that she hasn’t even fully embraced yet.
Barty took every opportunity presented to her and made use of it, and over the course of her seven victories she reminded us all that variety, an all-court game and a high tennis IQ can trump the power baseline style that has ruled tennis for some time.
Barty’s maiden major title was a refreshing reminder that any style can win on any surface, if the stylist executes a game plan and backs it up with belief. Now No.2 in the WTA rankings and heading to her favorite surface, Barty is suddenly a threat to get to No.1 in 2019—and deservedly so.
3. Spare a thought for Dominic Thiem
“I’ve just come from heaven to hell…” said Dominic Thiem when asked what it was like to try and get over his epic semi-final victory over Novak Djokovic in less than 24 hours so that he could prepare to face Rafael Nadal in the final.
Truth is, once that rain wreaked havoc by washing out all of play on Wednesday, it was an uphill battle for Thiem in Paris.
The Austrian was valiant in taking the second set from Nadal in Sunday’s final, but in the end the fact that he had to three matches in four consecutive days at the end of the tournament might have made an already near impossible task simply impossible. Nevertheless Thiem proved that he is getting closer to winning Roland Garros and at 25 he is certain to have many more chances to raise the Coupe des Mousquetaires.
4. Where was Novak’s head?
Like Thiem, Novak Djokovic was dealt a difficult set of circumstances in Paris. He nearly snuck past Thiem in five sets and two days in the semi-finals, and it makes us wonder: If he had accepted the difficult conditions he faced on Friday and embraced them more eagerly, would he have had a better shot at making the final? It felt like Djokovic lost his semi-final with Thiem in the locker room and not necessarily on the court.
It was disappointing to see Djokovic not give himself the best possible shot to survive that match, given how much was at stake for him. He was just two victories from a second Nole Slam, and he had performed perfectly through his first five matches. Everything was setting up for one of the most epic finals in Roland Garros history.
It wasn’t meant to be…
5. Pressure defeated Naomi Osaka
Like Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka had a lot of pressure to deal with in Paris. She was the holder of the last two major titles and this fact seemed to be weighing on her from first ball in Paris. She survived a few tricky encounters with Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Victoria Azarenka to stretch her Grand Slam winning streak to 16 (wow), but by the third round she had nothing left to give and fell to Katerina Siniakova.
Osaka’s performance gives us a glimpse into how much the weight of expectations can effect a player’s performance at a Slam. The World No.1 and WTA MEGA star has to keep sponsors happy, as well as her family, her coaching team and the pundits. That can’t be an easy juggling act for a 21-year-old with an injured thumb and not very much experience on clay.
Osaka’s circumstances are very unique, and we must consider this before judging her unfairly. There’s so much at stake for a player whose performance is so important to so many. This time Osaka couldn’t escape the nerves; maybe next time she’ll be better at it.
6. Federer’s return to Paris was a joy to see
Roger Federer reached the semi-finals and was an absolute machine at Roland Garros—until he ran into a different breed of machine and fell to Rafael Nadal in three sets in the semis. That was to be expected, but Federer’s participation, and contention, at Roland Garros was a very pleasant surprise and a delight to see.
Embraced by the fans and his peers, it was a joy to watch the 37-year-old perform so well on the surface (and stay healthy). He entered the clay season with low expectations but leaves Roland Garros with a lot of good tennis under his belt and it could be the key to his performance on grass later this summer.
7. Big doubts surround Serena
It was odd to see Serena Williams get handled by 20-year-old American Sonya Kenin in the third round (6-2, 7-5) at Roland Garros. And even stranger that the young American had the larger court presence in this match. What does it say about Serena’s quest for more major titles that she can be thoroughly dispatched by a player like Kenin at a Slam? Is the loss simply a product of Williams’ level of match fitness? If so, when can we expect a higher level from the American legend?
Let’s hope the answer to that question is Wimbledon. It just feels weird without her in contention at the majors.
8. The WTA kids were amazing in Paris
The lapses of Serena and other veterans opened the door for some kids with attitude. And they stepped in and acted like they belonged.
Marketa Vondrousova, Grand Slam finalist. Amanda Anisimova, Grand Slam semi-finalist. Iga Swiatek, Grand Slam quarter-finalist. It was a remarkable tournament for teenagers on the WTA side, and it appears that each of the three aforementioned players has a very bright future in the sport. Voundrousova is a unique talent that can be hell to play against. Anisimova is one of the purest ball strikers to hit the tour in a while. Swiatek is a powerful player that has made the transition from juniors to pros look easy. The future’s bright in the women’s game.
Not to be forgotten is 18-year-old Anastasia Potopova’s upset of Angelique Kerber in the first round. And Bianca Andreescu, who won her first career match at Roland Garros before pulling out with a shoulder injury.
9. Tsitsipas-Wawrinka was a classic
Court Suzanne Lenglen was host to a truly epic encounter between Stan Wawrinka and Stefanos Tsitsipas and now that the tournament is done and dusted, Wawrinka’s 7-6(6) 5-7 6-4 3-6 8-6 victory stands as the best men’s match of the tournament (and the longest at 5:09).
This battle had so much gusto. Two larger than life personalities, one rising and the other rising again; Drama and quality in every set; Elements of surprise; Incredible atmosphere from a jam-packed crowd; Heartbreak and jubilation; And, the afterglow of a well-fought contest that was the emotional high point of the first ten days of the tournament on the men’s side. We Just can say thanks...
10. Speaking of great matches...
On the very same Court Suzanne Lenglen Anastasija Sevastova saved five match points and defeated Elise Mertens 6-7(3) 6-4 11-9. This match, staged between two clever tacticians and unbelievable fighters, had so much variety and so many quality points. And the drama in the final set took it next level. It will go down as one of the top matches of the WTA season for sure.
11. Mladenovic redeems for French women
Other than the first-round victory of 16-year-old Diane Parry, it was a pretty bleak tournament for French women. The nation’s three biggest stars, Caroline Garcia, Kristina Mladenovic and Alizé Cornet were all out by the second round. But Mladenovic, paired with Timea Babos, claimed the doubles title on Sunday with a win over Duan Ying-Ying and Zheng Saisai.
Mladenovic also rises to No.1 in the WTA doubles rankings as a result. It was a good way to finish off an otherwise troubling tournament for Les Bleues.
12. Simonne-Mathieu is the new darling of tennis showcourts
It was like a dream, walking down the charming path from Court No.1 to the new Court Simonne-Mathieu. And it only got better once seats were taken. This modern gem is the perfect-sized showcourt, providing intimacy and atmosphere in the vicinity of botanical delights.
If you didn’t get a chance to see it yet, put it on your tennis bucket list.
13. Mahut’s moving moment
Speaking of Court Simonne-Mathieu, there’s no denying that Nicolas Mahut set the bar high in terms of emotional high points that have taken place on the court. Mahut made magic with his first round comeback from two sets down against Marco Cecchinato, and in the third round it was Mahut’s son Natanel coming to his emotional rescue after a tough loss to Leonardo Mayer.
Was it Mahut’s last singles match at Roland Garros? We hope not, but if it was, it sure was memorable.
14. Two more great matches
Two more absolute gems from week one at Roland Garros: Jan-Lennard Struff’s five-set victory over Borna Coric was a massive match in terms of atmosphere and importance for the German as it was his first trip to the second week at a major in his 23rd appearance. … Andrea Petkovic’s 4-6 6-3 8-6 victory over Hsieh Su-Wei was one of the best matches of the tournament, hands down, and Petkovic’s post-match celebration was yet another brilliant moment in the career of one of tennis’ great entertainers.
15. Players doing awesome things on social media—nothing new in tennis.
Speaking of Petkovic: her long, emotional thread on her love for the game was one of the best posts of the tournament. It’s fantastic having tennis players share so much of their passion for tennis with fans—we’re very blessed to have so many good people in the game.
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ thoughtful Instagram post, which explained just how devastated he was after losing to Stan Wawrinka in the round of 16, was also a gem.
Today I felt something that I can’t really explain. Today was the first time in my entire life, in my twenty years of existence that I felt that “aura”, the real definition of the word, competition. Not any kind of competition though, it felt different than any other time, any other battle, any other moment on the tennis court. There is something about today that I won’t be able to explain. It’s a feeling that makes me appreciate the sport that I chose to pursue in my life as a career. The bitter taste of that loss is something unexplainable. @stanwawrinka85 makes our sport real and pragmatic. It’s something that’s rare to find in the world that we are at. It’s something unique. There is loads of charm and charisma to it. We both struggled, we both went beyond our limits, we both experienced luck and our destiny was drawn on that Parisian court after five hours of physical and mental suffering. I really don’t know if what I feel right now is positive or negative. There is no bipolar effect to it. Today I learned something that no school, no classroom, no teacher would be able to teach. It’s called, living life!
A post shared by Stefanos Tsitsipas (@stefanostsitsipas98) on
16. It was a strange tournament on the women’s side
We thought we knew who the favorites were prior to the tournament, but by the time Petra Kvitova pulled out with an arm injury and Kiki Bertens was done due to illness, we knew we were in for a weird one on the women’s side.
(Not that there’s anything wrong with that).
Karolina Pliskova’s loss to Petra Martic (not so surprising but nevertheless, huge) was next in a train of falling dominoes (Serena’s loss to Kenin and Sloane Stephens’ loss to Johanna Konta were also quite big) and by the time the dust had settled we were left with two hungry teenagers and a pair of pleasant surprises to form one of the more unlikely Grand Slam semi-final quartets in recent memory.
Konta. Vondrousova. Anisimova. Barty. Raise your hand if you had that final four pegged. Was it an aberration or a sign that serious upheaval is in the works?
17. Johanna Konta emerges
Great Britain’s Johanna Konta capped off an incredibly successful clay-court season by reaching the semi-finals in Paris. The British No.1 rises back to No.18 in the rankings as a result of her handiwork and is threatening to become a Top 16 seed at Wimbledon. It’s the first time Konta has been in the Top 20 since last March and it will be interesting to see if the confidence she’s gained from finally having success on the clay will carry over to other surfaces for her in 2019.
18. Tennis in extreme wind can really suck
After what we saw on Friday at Roland Garros many are wondering: how much wind (velocity) is too much wind (velocity)? Clearly extreme winds marred the quality of play during Friday’s semi-finals, but wasn’t it interesting to see which players were able to cope better than others in the extreme conditions? Semi-finals between Nadal and Federer and Djokovic and Thiem became a true test of mental strength, adaptability and wind whispering, and even though the quality of tennis wasn’t as high as we typically like it on the second weekend of a Slam, it still made for some compelling competition.
Do we really want tennis to be played in a vacuum or was it just fine the way it was on Friday?
19. Scheduling ain’t easy
One thing we learn at each major, when the inevitable chaos times ten happens and the tournament’s organizers find themselves under intense scrutiny due to which players they have scheduled where and why: You can’t please everyone! Oftentimes, we make too much of the scheduling: it’s just tennis and these players are pros. Give them a few towels and new balls every seven and nine games and they are good to go.
Then again there is nothing wrong with debating the pros and cons of said schedule. As the times change so do the fans and television. How do we keep them all in the conversation and give everybody their proper due? It’s better to have the conversation than to not have the conversation—just keep it polite and try to see it from different perspectives.
20. Change is coming to #RG20
There will be a new roof over Court Philippe Chatrier in 2020 and the fabled Court No.1 aka Bullring will be demolished and replaced by a colossal chunk of green space. If the way that the FFT devised and executed the new Court Simonne-Mathieu is any indication, we are in for a treat. Court No.1—of course—will never be forgotten, but the new open space should help alleviate foot traffic at a busy intersection and create a vibrant new space that will surely be the place to mingle and watch the tournament’s biggest matches on a big screen.