Roland Garros 2020

[DUN I LOVE]

Zawczasu warto się zaopatrzyć w ręczniki, żeby później nie trzeba było ich kraść z siłowni.

[arti]

[arti]

[Kamileki]

The Day A Cramping Roddick Turned Tables On Chang

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Andy Roddick made his Roland Garros debut in 2001.
The Day A Cramping Roddick Turned Tables On Chang
May252020
ATP Staff
All-American clash among best matches of 2001

Michael Chang made his Grand Slam breakthrough at 1989 Roland Garros after overcoming severe cramps to defeat Ivan Lendl en route to winning the title. Twelve years later, he found himself on the same court staring at another cramping American teenager in Andy Roddick.

Their five-set, second-round clash was seen as a changing of the guard in American tennis as the 18-year-old Roddick prevailed 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-5 after three hours and 50 minutes. Roddick, then No. 48 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, grimaced and hopped on one foot between points in the fifth set, even leaning on a linesman for support. But he also broke the record for most aces in a match at Roland Garros (37) since the ATP started keeping stats in 1991.

After Chang hit a backhand wide on match point, Roddick broke down in tears as he hobbled to the net. The crowd rose in unison and began chanting his name. Despite the disappointing defeat, the always classy Chang imparted a few words of wisdom as they shook hands.

“One of the cool moments was when we shook hands and Michael said, ‘Listen, I’ve cramped. I’ve done this before. Here’s what you need to do,’” Roddick recalled to Tennis Channel. “He went point by point as to how I could best recover. It was a real lesson learned on how to prepare yourself going into the match.”

You May Also Like: Roland Garros Flashback: Nadal's First Five-Setter In Paris

The similarities between Roddick's victory and Chang's heroic comeback in 1989 weren't lost on the rising American. He cited the match with Lendl as one of his biggest motivators growing up.

"It was going through my head while I was out there," Roddick said. "That match was one of my first memories of tennis. I went out after it and played for three hours. It really inspired me."

Although Chang’s best years were behind him in the 2000s, beating him on red clay was still a difficult task. He was full of praise for Roddick afterwards and wanted to see his opponent continue forward in the draw.

“At that point, I figured that I’m out of the tournament and he’s an American. All Americans want other Americans to do well,” Chang said of his advice at the net. “Obviously it was an incredible match… It was ridiculous how high and deep his serve was kicking.”

Roddick was forced to retire midway through his next match with Lleyton Hewitt due to a strained left thigh. Although the American struggled in Paris throughout his career and never reached the quarter-finals, he would go on to capture the 2003 US Open title and finish that season as year-end No. 1.
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https://www.atptour.com/en/news/flashba ... and-garros

[Damian]

A (Very) Late Night To Remember: Fognini vs. Monfils

Spoiler:

Relive the pair's second-round match from 2010 Roland Garros
Editor's Note: But for the COVID-19 pandemic, Roland Garros would now be underway. During the next two weeks ATPTour.com will look back on memorable matches and happenings at the clay-court Grand Slam, which tournament organisers are now hoping to stage in September.

Classic matches are remembered for various reasons, from the players involved to the stakes. Fabio Fognini and Gael Monfils’ match in the second round of 2010 Roland Garros, however, will be remembered for darkness.

Monfils, who was only 23 at the time, had already made two quarter-finals at the clay-court Grand Slam. Fognini, however, entered the tournament without a main draw win at Roland Garros. The Frenchman was a two-time ATP Tour titlist, and the Italian hadn’t made a tour-level final.

So when 13th seed Monfils sprinted to a two-set lead against World No. 92 Fognini, it was not a surprise. The rest of the match, however, was.

Fognini had lost eight of nine matches entering the event. Facing a home favourite who’d enjoyed success at the tournament in the previous two years was tough enough. Coming back from down two sets would be even more difficult.

But Fognini showed an early sign of his love for the big moments on Court Philippe Chatrier, hanging in there with the athletic Frenchman. As day turned to night on the event’s biggest court, the match’s momentum switched from Monfils’ racquet to Fognini’s.

The Italian showed some of the shotmaking prowess that today has him at No. 11 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. It was clear Monfils was not physically at his best as the match went deep into the decider. The Frenchman is capable of crushing his first serve, but as dusk fell over the Parisian crowd, he was simply rolling the ball in — perhaps even slower than he normally would hit a second serve — and daring Fognini to take the match from him.

Gael Monfils, Fabio Fognini

That was when things got wonky. At 4-4 in the fifth set, there were discussions about suspending play due to darkness, as it was increasingly difficult to see. Only the stadium’s scoreboard and a television studio lit the court.

But the players continued for two more games. Fognini held for 5-4, and then a hobbling Monfils served to stay in the match. At 15/40, Fognini let slip his first match point by missing a backhand into the net. On the next point, he had a great look to attack a slow second serve, but he just put the ball back in play, and eventually missed a forehand squash shot into the net. Two points later, Fognini had a third chance to seal his victory, but he missed a forehand return long. The darkness only got more noticeable on television, which made the setting look brighter than it actually was.

With the partisan crowd that remained in the stands fully behind Monfils, the Frenchman somehow survived to fight another day, holding for 5-5 as cheers erupted from the crowd. Fognini had a golden opportunity to close out a higher-ranked opponent, but just before 10 p.m. local time, they walked off the court.

Fognini somehow gathered himself the next day, to close out a memorable 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 9-7 win.

"Look at the score,” Fognini said, according to Reuters. “It's an incredible match."

After all the effort it took to push the match to a second day, it was a big disappointment for Monfils, who was the second-ranked Frenchman in the field. But he was honest about who the better player was.

"He beat me fair and square."

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/fognini ... -flashback

[Barty]

Why Agassi Was Robredo's Secret Weapon In Hewitt Upset

Spoiler:

Spaniard shares an intriguing anecdote from Roland Garros in 2003

Editor's Note: But for the COVID-19 pandemic, Roland Garros would now be underway. During the next two weeks ATPTour.com will look back on memorable matches and happenings at the clay-court Grand Slam, which tournament organisers are now hoping to stage in September.

Saturday, 31 May 2003 was a special day for Tommy Robredo. He had just turned 21 and was facing the biggest challenge of his career so far at Roland Garros: defeating a World No. 1 at a Grand Slam.

His opponent was Lleyton Hewitt, who took the first two sets 6-4, 6-1. However, the Australian would not be the man to claim the victory that day.

Playing in the third round of a Grand Slam was nothing new to the Spaniard. It was not even the first time he had met — and defeated — a Top 5 player at a Grand Slam event, as he had previously overcome Juan Carlos Ferrero at the 2001 US Open. But, in Paris, he produced the best victory of his career until that point.

“Until now I had always remembered my 2001 win over Ferrero in the US Open. But today’s surpasses that by a distance,” said Robredo.

Tennis At Home | How ATP Players Make The Most Of Stay At Home

So, what happened that day on the French clay? David brought down Goliath. And he did so by coming back from two sets down in a total of three hours and 24 minutes to win 4-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

"The important thing was keeping a good head. I didn’t care about going two sets down, or losing 0-3 in the fifth. I kept fighting, convinced that I could beat him,” said Robredo.

Sixteen years later, Robredo revealed something intriguing that happened to him before the match against Hewitt. The day after beating Jonas Bjorkman in the second round, the Spaniard went to the physio room for his treatment. In just 24 hours he had to face the World No. 1 and he wanted to be as prepared as possible. Andre Agassi was close by and he quickly asked him for some advice.

”Hey, Andre, tomorrow I’m playing with Hewitt,” said Robredo. “What tactics should I use?

“I’m not the kind of person that asks a lot of questions, but I thought I’d ask Agassi,” said Robredo. “It was very interesting. He suddenly got up off the bed. He sat down. And he started explaining the tactics to me.”

They spoke of Hewitt’s tactics, his cross-court backhand, his solid forehand and that on his second serve and on break points he tended to aim at the ‘T’.

“Agassi kept talking and I remember that the match was exactly as he had told me,” said Robredo.

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Robredo progressed to the fourth round, along with his countrymen Albert Costa, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Felix Mantilla and Carlos Moya. The next day, he returned to the same room he had spoken to Agassi in. And the US player was there once more.

“He got up and gave me a hug and said, ‘I watched the whole match and you honestly played incredibly. You applied all the tactics we talked about perfectly. I’m really glad.’ Nobody had ever given me tactics for a match as elaborately and clearly as he did. Everything he said was right. I knew exactly how Hewitt played and how you had to play him,” said Robredo.

After the evident success, the then-World No. 31 did not hesitate, “Hey, tomorrow I’m playing Kuerten, maybe you can give me some tactics. And he did it again for me,” said Robredo.

The result? Robredo reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final by beating the Brazilian 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-4.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/robredo ... os-feature

[Damian]

Flashback: Kuerten Shocks World No. 1 Federer In 2004

Spoiler:

Brazilian was making first appearance since suffering hip injury in Barcelona

Editor's Note: But for the COVID-19 pandemic, Roland Garros would now be underway. During the next two weeks ATPTour.com will look back on memorable matches and happenings at the clay-court Grand Slam, which tournament organisers are now hoping to stage in September

After maiden championship victories at Wimbledon in 2003 and the Australian Open earlier in the year, Roger Federer arrived at Roland Garros in 2004 seeking his third Grand Slam trophy in 11 months.

The World No. 1, who entered the event fresh from lifting his second Hamburg European Open trophy, avoided a third-straight first-round loss at the clay-court Grand Slam championship with back-to-back straight-sets wins against Kristof Vliegen and Nicolas Kiefer.

But in the third round, the Swiss' title bid came to an abrupt end against three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten.

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The Brazilian, who underwent arthroscopic right hip surgery in 2002, was competing for the first time since retiring from his Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell quarter-final showing with a hip injury. Kuerten began the tournament with a five-set battle against Nicolas Almagro, before moving past Gilles Elseneer to book a date with the World No. 1 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Supported by regular chants of ‘Guga! Guga!’, Kuerten played with aggression from the baseline and found consistent success on serve. Despite dropping his serve early in the first set, the Brazilian did not face a break point in any of his remaining 14 service games to complete a memorable two-hour, four-minute victory.

“I came here in bad shape, playing bad. But every time I go on the court, it seems something special happens with the love and passion I have for the tournament. That brings the best out in me,” said Kuerten.

Tennis At Home | How ATP Players Make The Most Of Stay At Home

Kuerten’s victory extended his streak of fourth-round appearances at the tournament to six years. The 2000 year-end World No. 1 ultimately advanced to the quarter-finals in Paris, where he was beaten in a fourth-set tie-break by World No. 8 David Nalbandian.

With Federer adding a second Wimbledon trophy and a maiden US Open crown to his resume later in the year, Kuerten was the only man to defeat Federer at a Grand Slam event in 2004.

"The last three years haven't been the best for me here," said Federer. "I just didn't play like I can. This is a little bit of a disappointment for me. I can play better."

Federer soon proved that he could achieve greater success on the Parisian terre batteu. The Swiss has reached the Round of 16 or better in each of his 12 appearances at the event since his loss to Kuerten. Federer has made five final appearances in Paris and, with his 2009 final victory against Robin Soderling, the Swiss became the sixth man to complete the Career Grand Slam.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/kuerten ... -flashback

[DUN I LOVE]

Właśnie się zakończyła transmisja kozackiego meczu z 2006 roku, Nadal - Mathieu.

[Kamileki]

Właśnie się zakończyła transmisja kozackiego meczu z 2006 roku, Nadal - Mathieu.

5-7 6-4 6-4 6-4 i pięć godzin gry. Jedna z większych rzeźni.

[DUN I LOVE]

Cały na żywca oglądałem. Mecz życia PHM.

[Kamileki]

Cały na żywca oglądałem. Mecz życia PHM.

Ja niestety nie. Jeszcze na tyle nie ekscytował mnie Rafael żebym poświęcał mu całe życie.

[Damian]

[Barty]

[Damian]

How Monfils Made A Fan From A Foe While Making History At Roland Garros

Spoiler:

Relive Monfils' third consecutive five-set win at 2006 Roland Garros
Editor's Note: But for the COVID-19 pandemic, Roland Garros would now be underway. During the next two weeks ATPTour.com will look back on memorable matches and happenings at the clay-court Grand Slam, which tournament organisers are now hoping to stage in September.

In 2006, Gael Monfils became the sixth man in the Open Era to win three consecutive five-setters at Roland Garros. Entering that tournament, a 19-year-old Monfils had not won one five-setter. It wasn't just that he accomplished the feat, it was how he did it.

The former junior World No. 1 arrived in Paris with plenty of confidence, fresh off making his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The 25th seed faced a roadblock in the first round against Andy Murray, who had beaten him in straight sets two weeks earlier. But inspired by his home crowd, he rallied from two sets to one down to defeat the eventual World No. 1 6-4, 6-7(2), 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 in three hours and 42 minutes. The Frenchman then battled back from the same deficit against Belgian Dick Norman, advancing to the third round with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-0, 7-5 victory.

The teen’s biggest test was still to come in eighth-seeded James Blake, a powerful right-hander with plenty of punch in his game and a set of wheels as quick as anyone’s on the ATP Tour.

“I remember the crowd understandably being extremely pro-Gael. To be honest, if I wasn’t playing him, I’d be a huge fan of his as well,” Blake told ATPTour.com. “He is such an entertainer and just fun to watch, especially at that young age when people hadn’t seen that kind of athleticism before.

“I thought it was my best chance to do really well at Roland Garros. That was my best year on Tour and I felt like I was playing well, even on clay. Gael was so talented and had power and speed that was shocking.”

ATP Heritage: Milestones. Records. Legends.

Play began after 7 p.m. on Court 1, otherwise known as the Bullring, with both men seeking a berth in the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time. It was Monfils’ second appearance at the event, but it didn’t take him long to get the fans on his side.

Monfils served with a 6-2, 5-4 lead, and was two points from taking a massive advantage after saving back-to-back break points at 15/40. Blake had only converted one of 11 chances up to that point, but he crushed a forehand winner and then forced an error on the next two points to get back on serve, later evening the match at one set apiece. Play was then suspended due to darkness.

After splitting the next two sets, it looked like the higher seed might find a way through when he earned two break points at 2-1 in the fifth set. But Blake hit a backhand into the net and Monfils cracked a booming serve to save those opportunities. The Frenchman then made his move at 4-4.

Facing break point, Blake ripped two massive forehands that would have been winners against virtually anyone in the field, but Monfils clawed them back. The American came in for a Pete Sampras-like leaping overhead, but Monfils was there to get the ball back, and Blake missed a forehand volley into the net. That was the only advantage the teen needed, serving out his 6-2, 6-7(2), 7-6(1), 5-7, 6-4 victory in the next game after three hours and 21 minutes.

“It was a good satisfaction for me because it was the first time I made the second week [in a] Grand Slam,” Monfils said later that year. " this in France in front of my family and my friends, so for me that was amazing.”

My Point: Get The Players' Point Of View

Blake didn't necessarily do anything wrong. Monfils, inspired by the French, was simply too good for the former Top 10 star.

“I just couldn’t hold him off in the fifth set when he put so much pressure on me to hold serve. His serve was so powerful, that I was struggling to make any progress on his service games,” Blake said. “He made such unbelievable gets on my service games that it was difficult to have any easy holds or quick points. That was the difference, that he got that one elusive break in the fifth set.”

In a fourth-round battle of teens, Monfils lost to unseeded Novak Djokovic. The Serbian won the first two sets in a tie-break before pulling away. Even though Monfils couldn’t rally for a fourth consecutive five-set win, he certainly left an impression on Paris and the tennis world.

“I still think Gael is the fastest player to ever play on Tour. His ability to retrieve balls that I thought were easy winners was shocking,” Blake said. “I really couldn’t believe that his top speed was so fast. It seemed like it didn’t matter how far out of position he was on the court, he could recover for the next ball.”

Did You Know?
Monfils' best result at Roland Garros came in 2008, when he made the semi-finals. The Frenchman has made three additional quarter-finals in Paris.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/monfils ... arros-2006

[DUN I LOVE]

Dziś miała miejsce na kanale RG na YT premiera meczu Kuerten - Muster z 1997 roku.

[Damian]

Kafelnikov's News: His Roland Garros Run Won't Be Replicated 'For A Very Long Time'

Spoiler:

Russian relives winning the singles and doubles titles in Paris
Yevgeny Kafelnikov made history at 1996 Roland Garros, becoming the first Russian man to win a Grand Slam title. But the former World No. 1 put his name in the history books at that event for another reason — that’s the last time any man has won both the singles and doubles title at the same major.

“I’ve got news for you: Nobody will [do it again] for a very long time,” Kafelnikov, who won that doubles crown with Daniel Vacek, told ATPTour.com. “If you ask me when the next time we’re going to see a champion in singles and doubles at the same Slam, I don’t see that happening for many, many years to come.”

The closest any man has come since was at the 2000 US Open, when Lleyton Hewitt won the doubles title with Max Mirnyi and reached the singles semi-finals.

Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Daniel Vacek
Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Daniel Vacek celebrate their 1996 Roland Garros doubles title. Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Not only did Kafelnikov win both titles at 1996 Roland Garros, he dominated both draws. The 22-year-old played 35 sets at the event, and only lost one. How did he balance it?

“Easily,” Kafelnikov said. “I used my doubles matches basically as my preparation for the singles. You are practising elements in your doubles game that are really necessary for your singles: the return of serve, for example, volleys, serve. Instead of going to practise for one hour and 30 minutes, I used doubles for that. All the circumstances came together perfectly.”

Kafelnikov is a keen student of the sport, and he wasn’t thrilled when he saw his draw in Paris. Three of his first four matches came against Spaniards, and the other one was against Thomas Johansson, who proved a nemesis for the Russian throughout his career. But Kafelnikov beat Galo Blanco, Johannson, Felix Mantilla and Francisco Clavet without losing a set.

“It just shows how good my game was. If I wasn’t sharp I would easily lose to the players like Felix Mantilla or Francisco Clavet, who were really solid clay-court players,” Kafelnikov said. “But I was playing so well that none of those guys had a chance to get a sniff of beating me.”

Kafelnikov knew he’d have a tough test in the quarter-finals against Richard Krajicek, whom he beat in three tough sets the week before Roland Garros at the World Team Cup. But the Russian knew that the Dutchman was not as comfortable on clay as he was indoors or on grass, which played to his advantage in a four-set victory.

It wasn’t surprising that Kafelnikov was winning, but perhaps it was surprising that he went for four eight-kilometre runs around Court Philippe Chatrier during the tournament. Those runs came after his singles matches in the first round, third round, fourth round and quarter-finals.

“[It was] to keep myself physically in shape,” Kafelnikov said. “I ran 20 laps... strongly just to keep myself physically ready. I was running really, really, really fast. That shows me how physically strong I was.

“A lot of the [players] saw me. They were surprised. Two hours after the matches I went for a run. Many thought, ‘Okay he played one hour, 40 minutes against Clavet, he didn’t waste too much energy, why not go for another workout?’ They were looking at me and some of them were doing the same.”

My Point: Get The Players' Point Of View

Kafelnikov faced World No. 1 Pete Sampras in the semi-finals. The American legend rallied from two sets down against two-time champion Jim Courier in the last eight, and he also won five-setters in the second and third rounds.

But Kafelnikov was supremely confident. At the same event he defeated Krajicek in Dusseldorf, the Russian raced past Sampras 6-2, 6-2. In Paris, after a tense first set, he beat the top seed 7-6(4), 6-0, 6-2. Those were the only two wins he’d earn against Sampras in 13 tries.

“I just don’t want people to feel Pete wasted his energy on his way to the semi-finals and he had nothing left [and that] if he would have been fresher, I had no chance. I don’t see it that way; I’m not going to believe in that,” Kafelnikov said. “We all can sit here and discuss, imagine what would have happened, but I believe I was the better player, particularly in that tournament.”

At the same time, Kafelnikov and Vacek had moved their way through the doubles draw. The final against Guy Forget and Jakob Hlasek provided a good opportunity for Kafelnikov to get used to what it felt like to play for a major title. Kafelnikov/Vacek breezed to a 6-2, 6-3 triumph.

“My attitude with the doubles was, ‘You have the most important match in your life tomorrow, so just try to emulate what you’re going to feel like tomorrow, today.’ That’s exactly what happened,” Kafelnikov recalled. “I was really nervous because we were playing the final of a Grand Slam and tomorrow was going to be an even more packed stadium than we had that day. Don’t freak out when you see a full stadium tomorrow… All the elements came together in that tournament to do both, singles and doubles, so perfectly.

“My partner was over the moon. He even stayed the next day in town to help me to warm up [for the singles final].”

ATP Heritage: Milestones. Records. Legends.

Kafelnikov only had one match left to make history. He faced German Michael Stich, who had upset defending champion Thomas Muster in the fourth round. The Russian had won six of their nine previous meetings, and he tried to treat it like a normal match, even if it wasn’t. Kafelnikov believed Stich could hurt him from the baseline more than Sampras did, so he was attentive to that, and his return game helped him to a two-set lead.

“I lost my first match point at 5-4 in the third set. It was [my] advantage on Stich’s serve, and he held his serve, got it to 5-5. Believe it or not I started cramping in my left leg out of nowhere because my nervous system got on edge… I can’t even remember the last time I had cramps [before that],” Kafelnikov said. “I told myself, ‘If you don’t get through this set you might not win it.’

“It is ironic, but that’s how important in my whole system that match was. It really cut everything out of my body. I left everything out on that court just to win that match.”

Kafelnikov went on long runs during the tournament, and yet he cramped during the biggest moment of his career. Kafelnikov held off Stich in the tie-break, hitting a forehand passing shot the German couldn’t handle. The Russian was so relieved, he threw his racquet high into the stands.

“I was really, really so confident, you cannot believe. You probably only get such feelings once or twice in your career where you feel like nobody can beat you. I can imagine what Djokovic and Nadal are feeling like right now because they’re mostly 365 days a year feeling that way. For me, against such competition like what I had to deal with in my career, that was a wonderful feeling.”

Yevgeny Kafelnikov

Kafelnikov beamed as he showed ATPTour.com his singles trophy from the tournament, which he still has displayed in his home. Now 46, he thinks it’s “pretty cool” that he is still the last player to win the singles and doubles titles at the same Grand Slam.

“I will definitely in my lifetime be the last one,” Kafelnikov said. “What I really want, if for some reason in my lifetime someone wins both in singles and doubles at the French Open, I would love to present the trophy to that person. But again, I don’t know if it will happen ever in my lifetime.”

More Stories Like This In: Roland Garros ATP Heritage Yevgeny Kafelnikov 2020

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https://www.atptour.com/en/news/kafelni ... 99-feature

[Damian]

Federer Posters On His Wall, Goffin Met His Idol During Dream Roland Garros Run

Spoiler:

The Belgian provides exclusive insight into his 2012 run in Paris
David Goffin remembers it being difficult to study for school exams growing up because he’d want to watch Roland Garros on television. The Belgian’s family often made the three-hour drive to Paris to watch the clay-court major in person.

Little did Goffin know that his breakthrough as a professional tennis player would come at that same venue in 2012.

“It’s always a special place because the French Open is probably the biggest tournament we follow in Belgium,” Goffin told ATPTour.com this week. “When I played well in 2012, probably nobody knew me on the Tour and it was my first main draw at the French Open… it was the first time that people in Belgium saw me on live TV, so it was a big moment.”

Goffin became the first man since Dick Norman at 1995 Wimbledon to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam as a lucky loser. He had not yet cracked the world’s Top 100, but Goffin certainly made a name for himself.

David Goffin

Growing up, the Belgian had posters of Roger Federer on his bedroom walls. It was fitting that the Swiss superstar was his opponent in the Roland Garros Round of 16. Goffin even won the first set against the third seed.

However, his dream run nearly ended before it began. Portugal’s Joao Sousa beat the 21-year-old World No. 109 in the final round of qualifying 6-3, 7-6(3).

“I was really nervous because I felt that there was maybe an opportunity to get in my first main draw and the level was there,” Goffin said. “I lost a little bit my game that day mentally, and also physically, I was really tight. After that, I was so disappointed.”

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Gael Monfils was struggling with a knee injury, forcing the Frenchman to withdraw from his home Slam. That gave Goffin his first major main draw opportunity. The Belgian would play 23rd seed Radek Stepanek.

“I knew he was a player with a lot of experience. Maybe the clay court is not his best surface, but I knew he would do everything on the court to win that match,” Goffin said. “I was just happy to be in the main draw. I had a lot of support, a lot of Belgians behind me. I enjoyed every moment in that match.”

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Goffin weathered his nerves and a tricky opponent in Stepanek to advance 6-2, 4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

That set a clash between the 21-year-old and 2001 Australian Open finalist Arnaud Clement, who was playing in his final Roland Garros. Goffin took a 5-1, 0/30 lead in the fifth set against the home favourite when, “it started to rain like crazy”, cancelling play for the day.

“During the night you can’t sleep well, you just imagine all the possible scenarios that can happen,” Goffin recalled. “The next day I came back for four points [to finish the match].”

Goffin was a lucky loser, but he was as confident as he’d ever been in his career, ousting Clement 3-6, 7-6(2), 0-6, 6-2, 6-1. Next up was Poland’s Lukasz Kubot.

“I saw [when I walked on the court] that it was packed full of Belgians, a lot of flags. The atmosphere on that court was just amazing and I remember it because I was the first player on the court and probably waited 10 minutes for Kubot,” Goffin said. “When he finally came on the court, all of a sudden, they started booing him!”

Goffin eliminated Kubot 7-6(4), 7-5, 6-2 to continue his dream run and earn a shot at Federer.

David Goffin

“[There were] a lot of [Federer] matches that I saw before playing him,” Goffin said. “I remembered all the racquets he had, all the outfits he had. I followed him very much. Every match I watched on TV.

“I was happy a little bit to see that I would play against my idol, but also I was super nervous because I was like, ‘Okay, I don’t know how it is to play against him.’... I was very tight until the first point of the match.”

It was tough for Goffin to focus on building a game plan because of the nerves, but he was fully focussed on getting off to a quick start.

“If you don’t start really well and then you’re really nervous and then you lose your first service game and it’s 2-0, 3-0, then it’s tough,” Goffin said. “Roger normally starts his matches really well.”

Goffin won the opening set 7-5, and kept the second set close. But in the back of his mind, he was thinking, “I have an opportunity, but he will do something magical, that’s for sure.”

Federer raised his level as the match went on, eventually triumphing 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4. Only one male lucky loser (Stephane Robert, 2014 Australian Open) has reached the fourth round of a major since.

“He’s very talented,” Federer said of Goffin. “I hope he can make it to the Top 20.”

Goffin’s accomplishments include climbing as high as World No. 7 and reaching the championship match of the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals. His breakthrough at 2012 Roland Garros went a long way to showing the Belgian what he was capable of.

“I think I proved to myself that I can win some big matches and also [hold up] physically,” said Goffin, who played 23 sets between qualifying and the main draw. “I proved to myself that physically I was good, because when you’re 20 years old, you never know. It proved to me that I have the level to go higher. It gave me a lot of confidence.”

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[arti]

Roland Garros Flashback: Kuerten Saves Match Point & Defends Title

Spoiler:

All it takes is one point to alter the course of a tournament.

American qualifier Michael Russell was one point from a feat that hours earlier had seemed inconceivable: scoring a straight-sets win against top seed and defending champion Gustavo Kuerten in their fourth-round clash at 2001 Roland Garros. But after the Brazilian erased the match point by prevailing in a lengthy rally at 3-5, he clawed back to score a dramatic 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-1 victory.

After the match, Kuerten carved a large heart in the clay with his racquet and knelt down in the middle of it. It would become his trademark for the rest of the tournament as he went on to defend his title and lift his third crown in Paris.

"It was very special, maybe one of the greatest feelings in all my life on the tennis court,” Kuerten said. "I like these challenges, to fight and to give it my all. But a payback like this is more than you can ask for.”



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While some players may have been devastated at coming so close to a career-changing win, the 23-year-old Russell was able to quickly shake it off. His inspired run in Paris pushed him inside the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time.

“I was down match point in the first round of qualifying and then had a match point on the World No. 1, so there was so much craziness within a three-week period,” Russell recalled to ATPTour.com. “I was able to get through the loss very quickly, but a lot of that had to do with being so young and just breaking through. There were so many career-highs from it that it didn’t give me a chance to be negative. I felt like I had my whole career in front of me and this was a launching pad.”

Although Russell’s memorable run would remain his best Grand Slam result, he’d go on to enjoy a lengthy ATP Tour career and peak at No. 60 in the rankings. He even developed a rapport with Kuerten and the pair casually brought up their epic battle over the course of their careers.

”We joked about it after, but obviously it’s easier to joke about when you’re the guy winning,” Russell said, laughing. ”But even walking around the grounds in Paris today, fans will sometimes come up to me and say they remember watching that match and how special it was. It’s really nice to get still that support. That match helped me for the rest of my career because it made me believe that I could win every match when I stepped on court.”

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[Barty]

Flashback: Federer Survives Haas To Keep Career Grand Slam Bid Alive

Spoiler:

Swiss recovered from two sets and break point down in fourth round

For four consecutive years from 2005 to 2008, Roger Federer’s bid to become the sixth man to complete the Career Grand Slam was ended by Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros.

So, when the four-time defending champion fell to Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009, Federer knew he had a great chance to finally break through in the French capital. One day after Nadal’s loss, Federer met former World No. 2 Tommy Haas for a place in the quarter-finals.

The Mutua Madrid Open champion entered the contest on an eight-match winning streak and had won seven straight ATP Head2Head clashes against Haas, but it was the German who opened the match in inspired form to increase Federer’s nerves on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

"He wasn't taking full command of his opportunities," said Haas. "He was making a few more unforced errors than usual, and his forehand wasn't firing on all cylinders."


Despite a strong serving performance from Federer in the first set, Haas dictated rallies from the baseline with his forehand and served with power and precision in the tie-break to earn a one-set lead. He then doubled his advantage by taking the second set, rallying with Federer from the back of the court and extracting crucial errors in the 12th game to move one set from victory.

After three consecutive finals between Nadal and Federer, the Parisian crowd were beginning to imagine the prospect of losing both men from the draw in a 24-hour period. Those thoughts were magnified when the match reached its most crucial point in the third set.

As Haas continued to pile the pressure on Federer’s shoulders, the German earned break point at 3-4, 30/40 on the 13-time Grand Slam champion’s serve. If Haas could convert his opportunity, he would serve for the match.

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Federer, who had struggled to find his best level on his forehand, held his nerve to not only survive, but turn the match on its head. Haas returned Federer’s second serve with interest, attacking his opponent’s backhand with a cross-court reply. But Federer had other ideas, shuffling his feet to strike a pinpoint inside-out forehand winner just inside the tramline.

"When I hit that forehand to save a break point at 3-4 in the third, I had the feeling it could be a turning point in the match,” said Federer.

The 58-time tour-level titlist held serve and claimed back-to-back games to force the match to a fourth set. From there, Federer won 12 of 14 games to cruise to the finish line. It proved to be a crucial victory for Federer, who overcame Gael Monfils, Juan Martin del Potro and Soderling to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires for the first time.

With his Roland Garros triumph, Federer joined Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi as the sixth man to complete the Career Grand Slam. The win also drew the Swiss level with Pete Sampras’ record haul of 14 Grand Slam titles.

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[Barty]

Stich On Muster Roland Garros Stunner: 'He Had A Lot To Lose'

Spoiler:

Relive the German's upset at 1996 Roland Garros
Editor's Note: But for the COVID-19 pandemic, Roland Garros would now be underway. During the next two weeks ATPTour.com will look back on memorable matches and happenings at the clay-court Grand Slam, which tournament organisers are now hoping to stage in September.

Two weeks before Roland Garros in 1996, Michael Stich was unsure if he was going to play the clay-court Grand Slam.

Stich had lost a three-setter in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia against current ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi. Before that, he hadn’t played for nearly three months due to a left ankle surgery that March.

“Why should I come to Paris and look like an idiot on clay?” Stich wondered, according to the New York Times.

Little did the 27-year-old know that he’d not only play Roland Garros, but he would spring the upset of the tournament and achieve his career-best result on the terre battue.

After winning his first three matches with the loss of only one set, 15th-seeded Stich faced a daunting fourth-round challenge against defending champion Thomas Muster. The second seed was the tournament favourite after triumphing in Monte Carlo and Rome.

Despite trailing by two sets to one, it appeared the Austrian was poised to wrestle back control of the match from Stich. Muster served to force a decider at 5-3, and converting would have put him in good shape, as he was arguably the fittest player on the ATP Tour.

“We all knew Thomas Muster was a strong guy. He was an animal,” former World No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov told ATPTour.com. “He could run fast and for a long time.”


Instead, Stich kept Muster pinned well behind the baseline to earn three consecutive break chances. Although he couldn’t convert the first two, he hit a ball with heavy topspin to Muster’s forehand, and the Austrian couldn’t reach due to the high bounce.

The players weren’t going to a fifth set, but a tie-break. Stich hit a net-cord winner to earn the first mini-break, and he never looked back from there. When he clinched the 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6(1) stunner with a forehand volley winner, Stich threw his arms up in celebration.

"There was a lot of pressure on him to defend his title," Stich said, according to the Washington Post. "I had nothing to lose. He had a lot to lose.”

Muster won 18 tour-level clay-court titles in 1995 and 1996, yet he lost in four sets against a player who wasn’t sure he was going to play Roland Garros at all.

"It's a disappointment now, but when I wake up tomorrow morning, I will hopefully have the same hair," Muster said. "Winning last year hasn't changed my life, and this is not going to change my life, either."


The upset surprised the rest of the field, too. Kafelnikov said that there was a crowd of players watching the match in the locker room.

“I was very surprised, but all credit to Michael. He played a very fantastic match,” Kafelnikov said. “That was the surprise of the tournament, that the defending champion went out in the fourth round. But Michael played a very great tactical match and used his strengths to his advantage very classically. It did surprise many players.

“I knew Thomas was the best clay-court player at the time with his record and his game. That year was very, very hot. The courts got a bit quicker. The balls were travelling through the air a bit faster.”

Stich maintained his momentum, beating home favourite Cedric Pioline and Swiss Marc Rosset to reach his first and only Roland Garros final. The German fell short against Kafelnikov, who had led their ATP Head2Head series 6-3.

Nevertheless, the fortnight was a 180-degree turnaround for Stich. Not only did he show up in Paris, but he looked better than ever on the red clay.

"I might have lost a match,” Stich said after the final. “But I've recaptured my love for the sport."

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