The French Open: A Field Which Dreams
Have you got your breath back? 2016 served up some incredible moments in tennis, fantastic technique and a thunderous array of shots; 2017 cranked it up one notch higher with an amazing Australian Open in Melbourne over the past fortnight.
As the seeds fell by the wayside, two of the modern game’s most popular and respected players took stock of their opponents and dug deep into the reserves of their experience to meet in the final: Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, we salute you.
When the pair walked onto the court, you could feel the anticipation rise, as if the years had rolled back to the pair in their prime. And they did. Federer’s early supremacy was countered by Nadal’s tenacity, with the pendulum swinging either way until the final set when the Swiss asserted his final authority on the match.
Nobody expected them to make it that far. Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic served up a scintillating display in Doha; they flattered to deceive. The Serb went out early and held the door open at the airport for his arch-rival. A staggering scenario which will fire the pair up for the clay courts.
Melbourne was a warning for the duo. Neither of them can take it for granted that they will make the final in any tournament – not that they ever would. But Nadal’s win over Milos Raonic gave the rest of the seeds notice that their tribulations of the past twelve months are over.
Both Federer and Nadal suffered an injury-riven 2016 which led to loss of form and some humiliating exits from major competitions. Neither showed any ill-effects, which for the coming year is only a good sign.
Will it be Federer’s last? The ‘Housewives’ favorite’ declared in his victory speech that he didn’t know if he would be around to defend his Australian Open title in 2018.
And with that comment, the rest of the year’s Grand Slam tournaments immediately sold out. Paris is the next on the calendar and a chance to say goodbye to a legend who has won the French Open just once. Five times Federer has reached the final, four times he lost. Four times he faced Nadal and lost; beating Swede Robin Soderling in 2009 was his only triumph.
Rafa Nadal loves the French Open though. The Spaniard is nine times a winner: 2005 to 2008 and 2010 to 2014. The holder of the record number of wins on the Clay Courts of Roland-Garros. Returning to form, no-one can dismiss the Spaniard as an outsider and Melbourne will only shorten his odds with the bookmakers when it comes to this tournament.
But Djokovic and Murray will be ahead of them in list of favourites to win. The Serb is the defending champion, his first triumph after three losing finals, beaten by Nadal twice and Stan Wawrinka.
His first win would no doubt have been sweeter given that Andy Murray was his victim. Losing to Denis Istomin, a wild card qualifier in the Australian Open who is ranked at no. 80 in the world, was a shock to his system.
Djokovic left with his pride battered, determined to take on the world over the rest of 2017. Defending a trophy is motivation enough for a player of his calibre but defending a trophy having made a complete pig’s ear of the first Grand Slam of the year? He’ll be a man on a mission.
So will Murray. 2016 belonged to him. Wimbledon, the Olympics; runner-up in Australia and in Paris; finishing the year as the world number one. It couldn’t have gone better, or much better anyway.
But he came up against an inspired Mischa Zverev. Anything is possible in tennis, you just need the right conditions and an outstanding performance. The 29-year-old German did just that; every element of his game was perfect and surely must instil belief into others that the best are going to win each match nine times out of ten; just be ready for that one time when the opportunity comes.
Murray has much to prove. 2016 was his first French Open final, having lost three semi-finals in five years. Success has come late in his career and at 29, he has maybe two or three years to take those crowns which have so far eluded him.
Can he do it in France. There’s every reason to believe he can, and with Ivan Lendl back in the fold, it’s no surprise that he is at the peak of his game.
And that’s the beauty of this French Open. It genuinely is open; every single one of the top seeds or big names has an inspirational reason to want this title. Every single one of them is capable of winning this title.
But only one of them can.
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