The 2015 French Open saw contrasting fortunes for the two world #1s, as Serena Williams kept alive her hopes of completing a calendar-year Grand Slam, while Novak Djokovic saw his dreams come crashing down as he succumbed to pressure and the outstanding play of Stan Wawrinka.
After securing her 20th major title, Serena Williams declared that it had been the “most difficult” of all, and anyone who had been following her progress at the tournament would be hard-pressed to disagree. Forced to come back from a set down in three consecutive matches, the American was battling the flu throughout the second week as well as some inspired opponents. Despite seeing her closest rivals in the rankings – Simona Halep, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova – slip to early losses, she retained her focus to overcome yet another three-set challenge in the semi-finals, this time from Timea Bacsinszky, who impressed in her first appearance in the last 4 of a Grand Slam, to set up a final with Lucie Safarova.
For her part, Safarova was riding the crest of a wave, playing the best tennis of her career and recording some of her best results to reach the final without the loss of a set with a sequence of wins that included victories over former champions Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova. Buoyed by a victory with Betthany Mattek-Sands in the women’s doubles, she began the final well but initially had no answer to Serena’s superior power. At a set up and with a 4-1 advantage though, the world #1 faltered and the Czech came roaring back, claiming the second set on a tie break with a flurry of winners, to the delight of the appreciative crowd. The rally was short-lived, however, and victory was never in doubt after Serena broke immediately at the start of the final set before calmly serving out for the title, which brings her within just two of Steffi Graf’s open-era record of 22.
Novak Djokovic’s path to the title had seemed pre-destined after the Serb put a resounding stop to clay king Rafa Nadal’s quest for a 10th Roland Garros title in 11 years in their one-sided quarter final match and ended Andy Murray’s unprecedented 15-match win streak on the surface in a two-day five-set semi-final. Desperate to add the only Grand Slam title missing from his trophy cabinet to his collection, Djokovic had looked unstoppable throughout the clay court season, winning titles in Monte Carlo and Rome as part of a streak of wins that stretched back to February.
On the other side of the draw, Stan Wawrinka had marched steadily through to his second Slam final, with victories over world #2 and compatriot Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga under his belt. He started the final as the underdog, and seemed to have read the script as Djokovic broke once to claim the first set.
The Swiss began to hit more aggressively in the second set, moving his opponent wide before unleashing his signature down the line backhand to great effect, and eventually began to out-muscle the Serb. Controlling his emotions to engineer a two-sets-to-one lead and showing few signs of nerves, he finally broke through in the ninth game of the fourth set before serving out for an unforgettable win. He later said his standard of play had surprised him, commenting “I think I played amazing today. I was really nervous but didn’t choke. I was always going for my shots, always going for the right play.”
Wawrinka – a former boys’ champion at Roland Garros - therefore comes the oldest winner of the event since Andres Gomez in 1990, and proved that his Australian Open title won against an ailing Rafa Nadal last year was no fluke. Indeed he joins Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray as a multiple Slam champion.
Doubles
As mentioned, Lucie Safarova & Betthanie Mattek-Sands (USA) teamed up to record their second straight Slam win thanks to a three-set win over Casey Dellacqua (AUS) and Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ). There was further success for Mattek-Sands in the mixed doubles, where she teamed up with compatriot Mike Bryan to beat Lucie Hradecka (CZE) & Marcin Matkowski (POL) to claim a third Slam title of the season.
The men’s doubles final was a classic, with third seeds Ivan Dodig (BIH) and Marcelo Melo (BRA) recovering from a set down to beat the Bryan brothers in a titanic battle, 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 7-5.
Juniors
The junior events were a showcase for promising Americans, with the next generation of US talent putting in strong performances on the European clay. The boys’ final was an all-American battle between 17-year olds Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz, and saw Paul comfortably defeat his second-seeded compatriot. Paul also reached the doubles final with William Bloomberg, but the pair was powerless against last year’s singles runner-up (and former Tennis Europe Junior Masters champion) Jaume Munar and Spanish compatriot Alvaro Lopez San Martín.
There was further success for Spain in the girls’ event as last year’s European 18 & Under runner-up Paula Badosa Gisbert claimed her first Junior Slam with a 6-3 6-3 win over Anna Kalinskaya of Russia. In the doubles, Marketa Vondrousova & Miriam Kolodziejova of the Czech Republic won their second consecutive Slam title together, following up their Australian title with a win over Americans Caroline Dolehide & Katerina Stewart.
An extended grass court season in 2015 leaves players with an extra week between Europe’s Grand Slam tournaments, and more playing opportunities than ever. Some of the top players may well spend some of that time healing the mental and physical wounds endured in Paris, but the countdown is already on for a chance to settle some scores in SW19. See you there!
Roll of Honour
Men’s Singles
(8) Stan Wawrinka (SUI) d. (1) Novak Djokovic (SUI) 46 64 63 64
Men’s Doubles
(3) Dodig (BIH)/Melo (BRA) d. (1) Bryan/Bryan (USA) 67(5) 76(5) 75
Women’s Singles
(1) Serena Williams (USA) d. (13) Lucie Safarova (CZE) 63 67(2) 62
Women’s Doubles
(7) Mattek Sands (USA)/Safarova (CZE) d. Dellacqua (AUS)/Shvedova (KAZ) 36 64 62
Mixed Doubles
(2) Mattek-Sands/M Bryan (USA) d. Hradecka (CZE)/Matkowski (POL) 76(3) 61
Boys’ Singles
(13) Tommy Paul (USA) d. (2) Taylor Fritz (USA) 76(4) 26 62
Boys' Doubles
Lopez San Martin/Munar (ESP) d. Blumberg/Paul (USA) 64 62
Girls’ Singles
(12) Paula Badosa Gisbert (ESP) d. Anna Kalinskaya (RUS) 63 63
Girls’ Doubles
(1) Kolodziejova/Vondrousova (CZE) d. Dolehide/Stewart (USA) 60 63
Men’s Wheelchair Singles
(1) Shingo Kuneida (JPN) d. (2) Stephane Houdet (FRA) 61 60
Women’s Wheelchair Singles
(2) Jiske Griffioen (NED) d. A Van Koot (NED) 60 62
Men’s Wheelchair Doubles
(2) Kuneida (JPN)/Reid (GBR) d. Fernandez (ARG)/Peifer (FRA) 61 76(1)
Women’s Wheelchair Doubles
(2) Griffioen/Van Koot (NED) d. (1) Kamiji (JPN)/Whiley (GBR) d. 76(1) 36 10-8