French Open 2022: Nadal, Swiatek defy maiden Slam attempts as tournament comes under pressure-Sports News , Firstpost

Rafael Nadal (L) and Iga Swiatek (R) triumphed at the 2022 French Open. AP

French Open 2022 finished with a similar sight as the last almost two decades — with Rafael Nadal lifting Coupe des Mousquetaires and then taking a bite of the trophy. The “victim”, in his own words, was Casper Ruud.

A day prior, Iga Swiatek bagged Coupe Suzanne Lenglen for a second time at the expense of Coco Gauff. Ruud and Gauff, two youngsters who are not ‘nobodies’ on the tour but were brutally swept aside by their more fancied rivals.

We take a look at the top talking points that emerged after the two weeks:

Every year Nadal wins in Paris, and every year it feels like a huge feat. Except for this time, he went through physical and mental challenges to lift the trophy for the 14th time. He travelled with his own doctor to Paris and needed to put anaesthetic injections on the nerves to counter the chronic pain. In short, Nadal played second round onwards with a numb foot which he admitted was not a long-term solution.

Additionally, it was a mentally draining two weeks as well. Rafa was taken to five sets by Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is currently being coached by Nadal’s uncle Toni. Then he got past Novak Djokovic in a late match; avenging his last year’s defeat. Against Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, he saw his rival suffer a horrific ankle injury while not playing his best. With a 22nd Major title on the line, Nadal came through to justify the tag of being a favourite. The conversation about longevity and physical pain will continue, but it was a mentally draining tournament too for the Spaniard.

– Many would question the WTA as a product because of its unpredictability. Because of lack of marketable faces amid a merry-go-round of World No 1s. By coming through as the favourite, in a convincing fashion, Iga Swiatek has helped WTA bosses. Two years ago, she won in very different conditions and the crowd missing. This time she played in the traditional time slot and with thousands in the crowd to keep her dominance going. 35-straight wins and six consecutive titles are something no one would have expected.

– Gauff and Ruud were spirited and positive for the future despite the thrashing in the final. And they have every reason to be upbeat about their chances at this stage in the future. In her maiden Grand Slam appearance, then 15-year-old Gauff took down Venus Williams. She’s since played on the biggest courts in the sport – Centre Court at the All England Club and Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York. To, now, a final at the French Open.

Ruud, on the other side, has been the in-form player on clay in the last two years. To be beaten by the King of Clay, at Roland Garros, is nothing to be ashamed of. Many have tried and failed. Rather, all who have tried, have failed.

– French Open’s unpredictability continued for yet another year. Instead of producing a surprise champion or a runner-up, the semi-finalists were not your household names. Russia’s Daria Kasatkina and Italy’s Martina Trevisan both did well to reach the women’s semi-finals. Both were then taken apart by Swiatek and Gauff respectively. Tough playing a sport where you could be sensational for a week and over but could still go out with nothing because of one bad hour.

– Tough start to Amelie Mauresmo’s appointment as tournament director. She fielded plenty of criticism when referring to women’s tennis as less appealing when compared to the men as far as evening matches are concerned. She did go on to explain her position later but the damage had been done. Through the two weeks, the organisers were slammed for putting Djokovic-Nadal as the evening match which means late conclusion to a crucial quarter-final. And then a security lapse with a protestor tying herself to the net. Not a good look for the tournament.

– Tennis and scheduling debates are not new but they centre mostly around favouritism for a few in the headline clashes. This time, the timings were absurd and disrespectful of the fans’ convenience. Starting the evening session at 9 PM local time means players don’t go to sleep until the morning and fans were left without public transport to get them home. Hope the authorities get it right the next year.

– Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic denied Gauff (and Jessica Pegula) the women’s doubles title as well. The 2016 champions’ triumph highlighted how much more they could have won if not for a high school-ish bitter breakup.

– Djokovic-Nadal Chapter 59 was patchy in phases and yet good enough to keep you hooked. Nadal won in four sets to deny the Serb an opportunity to go level on 21 majors. Playing his first Grand Slam since the US Open last year, Djokovic blitzed through in the first week. But was extremely inconsistent against Nadal — something you can’t afford to do.

– Did Carlos Alcaraz justify his billing with a quarter-final finish at Roland Garros? Or was it overhyped in the grand scheme of things? The positions might vary. To put the 19-year-old Spaniard as a contender wasn’t over the top given his run in Madrid and Barcelona. But it probably wasn’t as comfortable a run as many would have hoped. He needed to save a match point in the first week and produced plenty of offensive/defensive tennis to earn some fans. Zverev’s celebrations, in beating a top-10 player for the first time at a Slam, said plenty about Alcaraz’s rise.

– The tournament was a win for speaking about issues that go beyond the tennis court. Two years ago Naomi Osaka spoke about the mental health of an athlete which brought about change in Paris. This time, Simona Halep spoke openly of suffering an on-court panic attack. Qinwen Zheng, who was up a set over Swiatek, was undermined by her menstrual cycle. Coco Gauff highlighted the gun control issues in the United States. In the final, Swiatek had a message for Ukraine, which has been under siege by Russia for over 100 days now.

– The Greek tragedy that is Stefanos Tsitsipas got another chapter. He lost a five-set classic to Stan Wawrinka in 2019. Last year he was two sets up on Djokovic and went down in the final. This time he was top billing in a section that was largely clear for him to get to the final. Instead, he came from the brink to beat Lorenzo Musetti; was upset with the crowd in win over Zdenek Kolar before going down to Holger Rune.

– Special mention for Daniil Medvedev. He is aware of his limitations on clay and hasn’t shied away from admitting it. Coming after a hernia operation, Medvedev played just one match in Geneva in preparation for Roland Garros. He then played flawless tennis for three rounds, closing all out in straight sets. But failed to show up against Marin Cilic. All said and done, a great event for the Russian who will rise to World No 1 again on 13 June.

– Au Revoir Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon! The duo played their last French Open and were rightly given a fitting goodbye. Tsonga will not be playing anymore but Simon will see out the year. On a separate but related note, there were no seeded French players at Roland Garros; an extraordinary fact for a major host.

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