5 oldest French Open men's singles champions in the Open Era

Arjun
Stan Wawrinka with the 2015 French Open Trophy
Stan Wawrinka with the 2015 French Open Trophy

The French Open is without a doubt the most physically demanding of all the 4 Grand Slam tournaments. It is not an easy task to win at Roland Garros, especially for players aged 30 or above.

The slow nature of the surface and the high bounce takes a toll on the body and makes immense physical demands of almost every single player. Winning the 'Coupe des Mousquetaires' or 'The Musketeers Cup' is the lifetime ambition of many tennis players, but only a few have the endurance to actually triumph in Paris.

Remarkably enough though, there are two players who have won the French Open without dropping a single set, and both these legends have done so twice. They are the two greatest clay court players of all-time: Rafael Nadal and Bjorn Borg.

Here, we focus our discussion on the five oldest players to have lifted the Roland Garros trophy in the Open Era

#5 Stan Wawrinka

If any player deserves to be called a big-match player or a giant-killer on the ATP tour, it has to be Stan 'The Man' Wawrinka. Armed with his trademark index-finger-to-the-head gesture, Wawrinka has reserved his best for the hardest and biggest matches.

The Swiss has made the final of a Grand Slam four times in his career, and has won three of them; in each such instance, he beat the World Number 1 player along the way.

Wawrinka's second Grand Slam win, at the 2015 French Open, featured one of the best matches that anyone has ever played at Roland Garros. Trailing by a set against a rampaging Djokovic who was looking to win the French Open to complete a Career Slam, Wawrinka produced an absolute masterclass, hitting winner after winner against the helpless Serb.

Some of the one-handed backhand winners that Wawrinka delivered that day will never be forgotten by tennis fans.

That was the only instance where Djokovic was beaten in a Grand Slam match that year. Wawrinka was 30 years, 21 days old at the time.

#4 Rod Laver

Rod Laver
Rod Laver

Almost any list of tennis records in the men's field will invariably feature the great Rod Laver.

The winner of 11 Grand Slam Singles titles, Laver could have won a lot more had he been allowed to compete in Grand Slams between 1963-1967. He was banned during those years since prior to 1968, players who had turned professional couldn't compete at the Majors.

The 1968 French Open final was an all-Australian affair. It pitted Rod Laver against his old on-court rival and great friend - Ken Rosewall.

Rosewall won that match to lift the Musketeers Cup, but the 1969 final was a repeat of the same match, with the two men squaring off against each other again. This time Laver avenged his defeat from the previous year and beat Rosewall.

The win was extra special considering that he won the Calendar Slam that year, for the second time in his career. Laver was 30 years, 303 days old at the time of his win.

#3 Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal with the 2018 French Open trophy
Rafael Nadal with the 2018 French Open trophy

The 'King of Clay' - Rafael Nadal - is widely considered to be the greatest claycourt player of all time. He is the only man in the Open Era to have won 'The Musketeers Cup' as a teenager, in his 20s and his 30s.

That's truly a remarkable statistic, but the scarier part is that it doesn't look like Nadal is done. Considering his still-undimmed claycourt prowess, he will certainly start Roland Garros 2019 as the favorite.

The winner of 11 French Open crowns, Nadal has made it a habit to win in Paris. At the 2018 French Open, he started as the overwhelming favorite. Then the World Number 1, he was looking to extend his own 'La Decima' record; in the previous year, he had become the first player ever to win the same Major at least 10 times.

Nadal just dropped a single set - to Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinal - all tournament long, as he comfortably eased past the likes of Juan Martin Del Potro and Richard Gasquet.

In the final, he met Dominic Thiem - a man whose preferred surface is clay. But Nadal made it look easy as he beat Thiem without the loss of a single set.

Nadal was 32 years, 6 days old at the time of wining 'Undecima' in Paris.

#2 Ken Rosewall

Ken Rosewall
Ken Rosewall

The second Australian in this list is Ken Rosewall. Although diminutive in stature and lacking a strong serve, Rosewall made up for his weaknesses by being extremely agile and developing one of the best backhand slices that the game has ever seen.

Rosewall is the only player to have won a Grand Slam title in three different decades (the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s).

He won his very first French Open title in 1953, at the age of just 19. His second and last French Open title came 15 years later (an all-time French Open record for number of years between first and last victory), in 1968.

Rosewall was seeded No. 2 that year, and in the final he faced off against the Number 1 seed and fellow compatriot Rod Laver.

Rosewall would beat his good friend on this occasion. He was 33 years, 220 days old at the time of his victory.

#1 Andres Gimeno

Andres Gimeno at the 1968 Wimbledon Championships
Andres Gimeno at the 1968 Wimbledon Championships

Spain has had many athletes win the French Open over the years - more than any other Grand Slam, in fact. One such champion was Andres Gimeno.

Gimeno won 41 singles titles in his 14-year career, which lasted from 1960 to 1974. Prior to his French Open triumph, his biggest achievement was a win against Rod Laver in a marathon five-set final of the World Championship Tennis Event in 1966.

As he decided to participate in the World Championship Tennis Circuit by turning professional, he was barred from competing in Grand Slams until 1968. In 1969, he made the final of the Australian Open but lost to home favorite and top seed Rod Laver in three sets.

Gimeno's best year was 1972, when he won titles in Brussels, Los Angeles and Eastbourne. His career highlight came at the French Open that year.

Gimeno started the tournament as the 6th seed. In the quarterfinal, he faced 3rd seed Stan Smith and beat him comfortably in 4 sets. After beating 10th seed Alex Metreveli in the semi-final, Gimeno booked a place in the final - only the second Grand Slam final of his career.

In the final, he beat local hero and 9th seed Patrick Proisy in 4 sets. Gimeno is the oldest ever male athlete to win the French Open at 34 years, 306 days.

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