Tennis: 5 noteworthy players who never won the French Open

Arjun
Court Philippe Chatrier, Roland
Court Philippe Chatrier, Roland
Garos

The French Open is physically the most demanding of all Grand Slams as it required players to slug it out on a slow clay surface. South American and Spanish players have traditionally done well at the French Open. The playing surface with its slow pace and high bounce has been the preferred stomping ground of legends like Rafael Nadal, Chris Evert, Justine Henin and Mats Wilander who all achieved considerable success in the Parisian clay.

The surface doesn't make it easy for those who are at ease on grass courts - but players like Bjorn Borg, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer are a few well-known exceptions. The French Open was established in the year 1891 and in the early days, only French nationals and foreigners who were registered as members in tennis clubs in France were allowed to compete.

Rafael Nadal is the most successful French Open champion with 11 titles and in the women's field, the title belongs to Chris Evert with 7 trophies. In Grand Slam history, it is noteworthy to mention that the French Open was the first Grand Slam to permit professionals to compete alongside amateurs and the third Grand Slam to provide equal prize money across gender.

We look at 5 great serial Grand Slam Champions who have never triumphed at the French Open :

#5 Venus Williams

Venus Williams
Venus Williams

The elder of the Williams sisters - Venus Williams has been the embodiment of grit and never-say-die attitude in the women's game. She continues to defy time and age well into her late 30's.

Venus, an inspiration to many tennis athletes is a Sjogren's Syndrome patient but has found a way to overcome its limitations and battle it out at the highest level with the top players. A 5-time Wimbledon and 2-time US Open Champion, Venus is unlucky to have not won a French Open crown yet.

Her best result at Roland Garros came in 2002 where she finished runner-up to her younger sister Serena. However, Venus has won the Doubles and Mixed Doubles titles at Roland Garros.

#4 Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras

American Pete Sampras nicknamed 'Pistol Pete' for his quick serves won 14 Grand Slam Majors which was the benchmark until Roger Federer surpassed his tally in 2009. Sampras was a gifted serve-and-volley player who thrived on grass enabling him to win 7 Wimbledon Championships.

Sampras is the only tennis player in the history of ATP rankings to have finished the year as Number 1 on 6 different occasions. In addition to his exploits at SW19, Sampras also won the US Open 5 times and the Australian Open twice. However, his game was never really suited to the clay surface. His best performance at the French Open came in 1996 where he was a semi-finalist.


#3 Andy Murray

Andy Murray
Andy Murray

The first British player to win Wimbledon since 1936, Scotsman Andy Murray is one of the best counter punchers that the game has ever seen. His uncanny ability to hit winners from defensive positions is one of the moot points of his game.

Murray who is the only 2-time Olympic Gold medalist in the Singles category and has achieved considerable success on the ATP Tour with 14 Masters 1000 titles and 45 Singles titles overall.

Murray is extremely unlucky to have not won the Australian Open despite making a finals appearance on 5 different occasions. His best performance at the French Open came in 2016 where he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic. Murray who is also a venture capitalist and a self-proclaimed feminist will look to make a strong comeback to the men's game in 2019.

#2 Lindsay Davenport

Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport

Former World Number 1 Lindsay Davenport was America's top woman tennis athlete in the late 90's. She ascended to the top of the WTA rankings on 8 different occasions spending a total of 98 weeks at the summit.

She is one of five women to have finished the year as World Number 1 on 4 different occasions. Davenport was a serial Grand Slam winner winning 3 Singles Grand Slam titles and 3 Grand Slam Doubles titles.

Davenport also won the Gold Medal at the 1996 Atalanta Olympics and also won laurels for her country winning team events like the Fed Cup and Hopman Cup. Her best performance at Roland Garros was a semi-final finish in 1998. She presently serves as coach of Madison Keys.


#1 John McEnroe

John McEnroe
John McEnroe

American John McEnroe known for his volleying and attacking instincts close to the net was a mercurial personality who charmed the tennis audience in the 1980's with his firebrand display.

McEnroe is the only Men's player to have been ranked Number 1 in both Singles and Doubles in the Open Era. The Stanford University graduate entertained the tennis world with many memorable matches in the 1980's mostly with his great nemesis Bjorn Borg who was his polar opposite on court.

He was a 7-time Grand Slam Singles champion, 5-time Davis Cup winner and also established a successful Doubles partnership with fellow American Peter Fleming winning 57 Doubles titles together. McEnroe's record of 82 wins and just 3 losses in 1984 is the best win-loss record in a calendar year.

The American won 77 Singles titles and 78 Doubles titles in his career. He won the US Open 4 times and the Wimbledon Championships thrice but his best finish at the French Open was in 1984 where he finished runner-up to Ivan Lendl.

McEnroe, however, won the French Open in the Mixed Doubles category with fellow American Mary Carillo.

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