Two of the three best players in the clay-court season rightfully advanced to the finals of the French Open, and Rafael Nadal prevailed for his first Grand Slam win, and his third victory in his last four tournaments. Thanks to upsets, he didn’t have to face a top-10 seed until the final. Jimmy Connors came into the tournament as the top-ranked player, and had a nice run, but fell in straight sets to Nadal.
- First Round: On the top half of the bracket, all eight favorites advanced. On the bottom half, it was just three of eight. Australian Open champion #7 Pete Sampras was bounced in the first round, and #3 Roger Federer lost in the first round for the second straight Grand Slam event. #6 John McEnroe was another notable defeat. Two top-five players, #4 Jimmy Connors and #5 Ivan Lendl, had to rally from 2-0 deficits. Half of the matches were decided in five sets.
- Round of 16: The top half of the bracket remained chalk, with each of the four favorites advancing again. On the bottom half, #2 Rafael Nadal was joined by the #11, #19 and #26 seeds. #26 Yevgeny Kafelnikov posted the only upset of the round, coming back from 0-2 to beat #10 Rod Laver.
- Quarterfinals: Three favorites won here, but the upset was a big one as #1 Novak Djokovic went down to #8 Bjorn Borg. Connors defeated Lendl in the quarterfinals of the second straight Grand Slam event, this time rallying from an 0-2 deficit. #11 Stefan Edberg hadn’t lost a set yet (but his semifinal match came against Nadal).
- Semifinals: Both favorites won here, with Connors outlasting Borg in five sets, and Nadal subduing Edberg in four.
- Final: It wasn’t close, as Nadal swept past Connors with scores of 6-3, 6-4, 6-0.
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Thanks to his season-high four victories and a runner-up spot here at the French Open, Jimmy Connors maintained his hold on the #1 ranking. After winning three times on clay, Nadal had a big jump from ninth to second in the rankings. Ivan Lendl, Novak Djokovic and Andre Agassi round out the top five.
First Round:
(1) Novak Djokovic defeated (32) Juan Martin Del Potro 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-4
(16) Ilie Nastase defeated (17) Ken Rosewall 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
(9) Andre Agassi defeated (24) Jim Courier 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 0-6, 6-4
(8) Bjorn Borg defeated (25) Gustavo Kuerten 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
(4) Jimmy Connors defeated (29) Stan Wawrinka 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
(13) Mats Wilander defeated (20) Lleyton Hewitt 7-5, 7-5, 7-6
(12) Boris Becker defeated (21) John Newcombe 6-4, 6-3, 7-5
(5) Ivan Lendl defeated (28) Thomas Muster 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4
(2) Rafael Nadal defeated (31) Vitas Gerulaitis 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6
(18) Arthur Ashe defeated (15) Guillermo Vilas 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5
(10) Rod Laver defeated (23) Michael Chang 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 7-5
(26) Yevgeny Kafelnikov defeated (7) Pete Sampras 7-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
(30) Goran Ivanisevic defeated (3) Roger Federer 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4
(19) Andy Roddick defeated (14) Andy Murray 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3
(11) Stefan Edberg defeated (22) Stan Smith 6-4, 6-2, 7-5
(27) Yannick Noah defeated (6) John McEnroe 7-6, 7-5, 3-6, 3-6, 7-6
Round of 16:
(1) Novak Djokovic defeated (16) Ilie Nastase 3-6, 7-6, 6-0, 7-5
(8) Bjorn Borg defeated (9) Andre Agassi 6-4, 6-1, 6-4
(4) Jimmy Connors defeated (13) Mats Wilander 6-3, 6-3, 6-4
(5) Ivan Lendl defeated (12) Boris Becker 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-0
(2) Rafael Nadal defeated (18) Arthur Ashe 6-2, 6-1, 6-3
(26) Yevgeny Kafelnikov defeated (10) Rod Laver 5-7, 5-7, 7-6, 6-1, 6-4
(19) Andy Roddick defeated (30) Goran Ivanisevic 6-4, 7-5, 7-6
(11) Stefan Edberg defeated (27) Yannick Noah 7-6, 6-3, 6-2
Quarterfinals:
(8) Bjorn Borg defeated (1) Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
(4) Jimmy Connors defeated (5) Ivan Lendl 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0
(2) Rafael Nadal defeated (26) Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7-5, 6-3, 6-1
(11) Stefan Edberg defeated (19) Andy Roddick 6-4, 7-5, 7-5
Semifinals:
(4) Jimmy Connors defeated (8) Bjorn Borg 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7, 7-6
(2) Rafael Nadal defeated (11) Stefan Edberg 7-5, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6
Final:
(2) Rafael Nadal defeated (4) Jimmy Connors 6-3, 6-4, 6-0
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 