By Cheryl Jones
The prelude to an amazing day was captured by a quote from Bethanie Mattek-Sands, “But, going out when you walk out on Philippe Chatrier, it’s an amazing feeling. It’s a great stadium. Perfect day to play tennis. We were ready. We were ready to go.”
Mattek-Sands said a mouthful when she spoke after she and her partner Lucie Safarova trounced Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua in the Women’s Doubles final that was an opening act for the Men’s Singles match that tennis fans everywhere had been anxiously awaiting.
Mattek-Sands began her life in Rochester, Minnesota, but evidently likes warmer weather and now lives in Arizona with her husband. Safarova resides in Monte Carlo, but represents the Czech Republic. They partnered to win in Paris and the Australian Open in 2015 and again at the US Open in 2016. Then they met up again in Australia and took the title there earlier this year. It looks as if they are on a roll. (They have the beginnings of a Serena Williams Slam – four titles consecutively, but over a two-year span.) They need to add a grass title and the US Open title again, and it will be the real thing.)
They will next try their luck on the grass at Wimbledon. Both women have had better luck with doubles than singles, and even though they both have contested in singles play. Safarova has had the better record in that domain when she was runner-up to Serena Williams in 2015 in Paris. But, the past really has nothing to do with today. The women were ecstatic to be holding their trophy between them as they posed for a grip and grin photo after their hour and six-minutes, 6-2, 6-1 decisive win on an extremely warm and sunny day in Paris.
The ticket sellers of today’s final round matches were Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka. They had the honor of competing for the Coupe de Mousquetaires. Nadal made history when he struck that last forehand that propelled him to the tenth win at Roland Garros. No man in history has won more titles here or at any other Grand Slam. (The women are a different story. Martina Navratilova won Wimbledon nine times and Margaret Court the Australian Open eleven times.) Yes, Nadal did again take an imaginary bite out of the trophy as he posed for a world-wide gaggle of photographers.
The match was a quick one with never a doubt in anyone’s mind as to the outcome. In a mere two hours and five-minutes, Nadal sent Wawrinka home to Switzerland to re-examine his game that in reality doesn’t need any revamping at all. Nadal is just too good on clay to falter. Nadal has never lost after making it to the final here. He didn’t drop a set on his way to today’s decisive title. (He lost a mere 35 games – including today – on his way to that title. And, beside that decisiveness, he spent a mere 12 hours and six minutes on the court. For those who care, it’s an average of about an hour and forty-five minutes for each match, including one where he moved on to the next round when Pablo Carreno Busta retired with an abdominal muscle injury.)
There will be celebrating throughout Spain this evening, with the epicenter being in Manacor, Mallorca, Nadal’s birthplace and home. As soon as that forehand eased the ball across the net, Nadal knew it was his match. He performed his usual terre battue winning ritual and flopped down on the court and writhed in the red clay – not in pain but with joy. The smile on his face could have powered an entire bank of klieg lights.
Waiting for the cup presentation, huge banners were spread over the top tier of the stadium. They proclaimed him the best of all time here in Paris. He and Wawrinka were the first pair of players who were at least thirty and faced each other for the title in nearly fifty years (since 1969) when thirty-year-old Rod Laver defeated thirty-four-year old Ken Rosewall for the title. Even though it’s a week and eight days late, it was a great birthday gift for a fellow who just turned thirty-one.
There was another match on the docket today. It was The Legends Over 45 final. It was won by a couple of wild cards who had been accepted into the competition that hail from France. Mansour Bahrami and Fabrice Santoro played their own special brand of entertaining tennis when they defeated Michael Chang of the US and Pat Cash from Australia, 7-6, 6-3 in an hour and twenty-one minutes. The duo is always entertaining, providing trick shots and masterful court coverage that speaks to their ultimate understanding of the dimensions of the court and the unique terre battue surface. As entertaining as the “oldsters” were, the star of the tournament was Rafael Nadal.
Having been present for each of his wins here in Paris, it would be a farce to say that today’s match was a good one. It was interesting, but the match belonged to the Spaniard almost from the time the first ball flew over the net. It wasn’t that Wawrinka wasn’t playing well; he just couldn’t seem to bring his game up to the level of Nadal who proved that indeed, he is the best performer on clay – ever.
He has a 19 to 2 win-loss record at Roland Garros. With his win today, he became the oldest man or woman player to win fifteen Grand Slam titles. This was his twenty-second Grand Slam final and he has an astounding fifteen wins and only seven losses to his name. (Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic each won three and today’s opponent, Stan Wawrinka won the other. Obviously, they weren’t in Paris.) It’s apparent that he pretty much owns the terre battue.
After the match, he spoke about his day in the sun and gritty red clay. He said that he felt he was playing well, but that was to be expected because he worked hard every day. When he was asked about his preparation for Wimbledon where he has experienced pesky knee problems in the past but managed to win there twice, he shrugged his shoulders and indicated that he would continue as he had been, and take the days as they come. There was no, “no?”. There was only a humble man who has made history and who knows? There could be more history in the making. Next year will bring the answer to that question, and my guess is that it won’t be – No.
