Was it the clay? Upsets were plenty during the French Open, as most of the favorites didn’t even make it out of the first round. After the round of 16 only one top-10 seed remained. That was #6 Martina Hingis, and she would end up surviving the chaos to claim her first Grand Slam win, and her fourth tournament victory overall.
- First Round: Absolute carnage in the first round, as only eight favorites advanced, including just three of the top-10 seeds. Among those ousted were #1 Steffi Graf, #2 Serena Williams, #4 Chris Evert and #5 Margaret Court. The highest remaining seed in the top half of the bracket was #9 Maria Sharapova.
- Round of 16: Two of the three remaining top-10 seeds went out, leaving #6 Martina Hingis as the only one to make the quarterfinals. #16 Gabriela Sabatini was the highest-seeded player left on the top half of the bracket. Half of the field remaining were seeded in the 20s.
- Quarterfinals: The better seed won three of the quarterfinals, but Sabatini was ousted, leaving a pair of seeds in the 20s to battle in one semifinal. Hingis won again to set up a match with #15 Iga Swiatek in the other semi.
- Semifinals: Hometown hero #25 Amelie Mauresmo led 5-4 in the third set, but couldn’t hold on as #21 Hana Mandlikova emerged victorious from the top half of the bracket. Hingis continued her run with a three-set win over clay-court specialist Swiatek.
- Final: To get to the championship match, Mandlikova beat #12 in the first round, then three players seeded in the 20s. Hingis had a slightly harder run, beating #11, #14 and #15 in the previous three matches. Hingis got it done quickly, winning 6-2 in the first set and 7-5 in the second.
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After winning twice on clay mini-tournament and making the semifinal in the other, Hingis was the top-rated player heading into the French Open. With the victory, and with many other top players not scoring any points, Hingis has opened up a big lead in the rankings. Steffi Graf is #2, followed by Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles and Kim Clijsters.
First Round:
(32) Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated (1) Steffi Graf 6-7, 6-2, 6-1
(16) Gabriela Sabatini defeated (17) Jennifer Capriati 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
(9) Maria Sharapova defeated (24) Jana Novotna 7-5, 6-4
(25) Amelie Mauresmo defeated (8) Kim Clijsters 5-7, 7-5, 6-4
(29) Mary Pierce defeated (4) Chris Evert 6-4, 6-3
(13) Lindsay Davenport defeated (20) Ash Barty 7-6, 6-3
(21) Hana Mandlikova defeated (12) Justine Henin 6-4, 7-6
(28) Petra Kvitova defeated (5) Margaret Court 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
(31) Victoria Azarenka defeated (2) Serena Williams 6-3, 7-5
(15) Iga Swiatek defeated (18) Tracy Austin 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
(23) Simona Halep defeated (10) Venus Williams 6-4, 7-6
(26) Caroline Wozniacki defeated (7) Monica Seles 5-7, 7-6, 6-3
(3) Martina Navratilova defeated (30) Angelique Kerber 7-6, 6-2
(14) Evonne Goolagong defeated (19) Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 7-5, 5-7, 6-3
(11) Billie Jean King defeated (22) Virginia Wade 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
(6) Martina Hingis defeated (27) Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-0
Round of 16:
(16) Gabriela Sabatini defeated (32) Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-3
(25) Amelie Mauresmo defeated (9) Maria Sharapova 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
(29) Mary Pierce defeated (13) Lindsay Davenport 7-5, 6-1
(21) Hana Mandlikova defeated (28) Petra Kvitova 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
(15) Iga Swiatek defeated (31) Victoria Azarenka 7-6, 6-3
(23) Simona Halep defeated (26) Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-3
(14) Evonne Goolagong defeated (3) Martina Navratilova 6-4, 7-5
(6) Martina Hingis defeated (11) Billie Jean King 6-1, 6-4
Quarterfinals:
(25) Amelie Mauresmo defeated (16) Gabriela Sabatini 6-4, 6-2
(21) Hana Mandlikova defeated (29) Mary Pierce 7-6, 3-6, 6-1
(15) Iga Swiatek defeated (23) Simona Halep 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
(6) Martina Hingis defeated (14) Evonne Goolagong 7-6, 2-6, 6-4
Semifinals:
(21) Hana Mandlikova defeated (25) Amelie Mauresmo 6-4, 5-7, 7-6
(6) Martina Hingis defeated (15) Iga Swiatek 7-6, 6-7, 6-4
Final:
(6) Martina Hingis defeated (21) Hana Mandlikova 6-2, 7-5
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