French Open: Greatest matches at Roland Garros

The 129th French Open gets underway later this month with the iconic red clay courts set to bear witness to more sporting drama and this will be the first edition of the post-Rafael Nadal era.

The Spaniard was so dominant during his 14 men’s singles victories from 2005-2022 that very few of his clashes will go down as classics.

The more memorable matches have tended to be when the big names have fallen to surprise defeats or legends of the game have rolled back the years later in their careers.

Five contenders for the accolade of being the greatest match played at Roland Garros are recounted here.

Ivan Lendl vs John McEnroe, 1984 men's final

John McEnroe was in the form of his life in ’84 - he had not lost a match all year and had dropped only one set en route to the final.

He had defeated his great rival Jimmy Connors in straight sets in the semis and now came up against Lendl, who was still to win a Grand Slam title.

The American stormed into an early lead, breaking his Czech opponent in the sixth game before taking the set 6-3. 

Lendl’s reputation of being the bridesmaid in big finals seemed apt when McEnroe closed off the second set 6-2 to go 2-0 up in just over an hour.

However, McEnroe’s infamous temper began to get the better of him in the third when he became distracted by a cameraman and Lendl took advantage of the top seed’s concentration slip to break back, take the set 6-4 and grab the initiative.

After recovering from 2-4 down in the fourth to win it 7-5, ‘Ivan the Terrible’ had the vast majority of Roland Garros on his side and he held his nerve in a tense final set to clinch victory.

McEnroe sat in his chair, head in hands, for what seemed an age afterwards as he reflected on how he had let the opportunity to win the French Open slip through his grasp.

Andre Agassi vs Andrei Medvedev, 1999 men's final

Andre Agassi arrived in Paris freshly divorced and with an injured shoulder, so few expected him to go beyond the first week in 1999.

However, the American’s campaign gathered momentum as he displayed some of the maturity that had been lacking during his previous French Open final defeats in ‘90 and ‘91.

Meanwhile, Andrei Medvedev had contemplated quitting the sport a few months earlier only to have been persuaded to continue by none other than Agassi. 

An unexpected opportunity beckoned for them both when they reached the final and it was the Ukrainian who played with the greatest freedom in the first half of the match.

An increasingly desperate Agassi hit consecutive double faults to fall 30-40 on his serve at two sets down and 4-4 in the third.

The man from Las Vegas took a huge gamble with a big second serve that flirted with the line before saving this quasi-match point at the net.

He gained confidence and fluidity from that moment onwards and eventually overcame Medvedev in five to complete his collection of Grand Slams, something only four players had achieved before him in history.

Michael Chang vs Ivan Lendl, 1989 men's fourth round

Everyone remembers the underarm serve, but why Michael Chang felt the need to attempt it in this epic last-16 clash is worth a reminder.

By 1989 Lendl was the world number 1 and at the peak of his powers. He had won 36 of his last 38 matches and had been crowned Australian Open champion at the start of the season. 

Chang was a 17-year-old American upstart who had just broken into the top 20, but he showed the sort of physical and mental resilience in this match that marked him out as a future champion.

The teenager turned the tide in the third set and left Lendl to stew on court after he had a penalty point awarded against him.

Chang clinched the fourth after taking a prolonged bathroom break, but then began to feel severe cramps coming on.

He irritated Lendl further by returning some moonballs back at the Czech while not being able to sit down at the change of ends for fear of not being able to stand again. 

The fifth set reached the point of farce when Chang received a warning for 'tanking' a game at 2-0 up and he seriously considered abandoning all hope.

But he hung in there and, after four consecutive breaks of serve, decided to unleash the cheeky serve that finally floored his opponent at 4-3, 15-30.

Less than a week later he beat Stefan Edberg in the final to become the youngest-ever male Grand Slam singles champion and the first player of Asian descent to win a major.

Gaston Gaudio vs Guillermo Coria, 2004 men's final 

This classic clash between two Aregntinian stars went all the way. 

'The Magician' Guillermo Coria was the world No.3 and the best player on clay in the pre-Nadal era, having won of 36 of his last 37 matches on the surface.

Gaston Gaudio, nicknamed 'The Cat', was the world number 44 and seemed happy just to make the final.

That was evident in the early running as Coria ripped off the first two sets 6-0, 6-3 and, at 4-3 up with a break in the third, the match looked to be headed for a rout.

But Gaudio clawed his way back from the edge of defeat at 40-15 down to break back in the eighth game and never looked back.

Coria stiffened in a bout of stress that paralysed his legs as Gaudio levelled, before the younger Argentinian recovered in the final set.

However, Gaudio saved two match points and powered through to win his first, and only, Grand Slam title. 

Steffi Graf v Martina Hingis, 1999 women's final

Martina Hingis, the 18-year-old world No. 1 who had won the Australian Open title at the start of the season, started as the big favourite against Steffi Graf.

Nearly three years after her US Open victory, and with many setbacks in between, the legendary German, almost 30 years old, was ready to sign off from professional tennis at the end of this tournament.

Hingis pulled away 6-4, 2-0 before a controversial line call knocked her off balance. 

The 'Swiss Miss' received a penalty point and attracted the wrath of the crowd, already overwhelmingly in Graf’s favour.

Hingis failed to convert two match points at 5-4 in the second and went to pieces after that with Graf clinching the final Grand Slam singles title of her illustrious career 6-2 in the decider.