Roland Garros, Men's French Open 2026 - Grand Slam

[mrzz]

That is 41 consecutive years and counting.

They got lucky.

 

[Fiero425]

I see the final's set prematurely! Cobolli gets a "Walkover" as Arnaldi can't go; possible food poisoning! This has been one strange major!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I see the final's set prematurely! Cobolli gets a "Walkover" as Arnaldi can't go; possible food poisoning! This has been one stange major!

It isnt food posioning Arnaldi has a bad virus, he has been vomiting and feeling dizzy, called the doctor over night who gave him pills, he tried to see if he could get on court, but could not get up sad to say.,still feeling dizzy, he has made the right decision.,

 

[Federberg]

Yeah, I hear you. I do wonder how long Roger might have played without Djokodal. First of all, he very well could have won at least one Calendar Slam in 2006-07. If he had, and then dominated for a few more years in 2008-12ish, he might have been ready to wind down. I mean, who would his main competitor have been, Andy Murray?

In other words, he might have won more in 2008-10ish, but I'm not sure if he would have still been playing after around 2015.

People make a lot about improvements in medical tech and fitness, but there has to be the will behind it - and clearly Roger was "inspired" by Djokodal. Agassi already played longer than the greats of the 80s and 90s, winning his last Slam at 32, his last Masters at 34, remaining in the top 10 at 35 and only retiring a year later. I think that was partially him making up for a mispent youth. Agassi's path echoed Connors somewhat, though he retired more quickly after falling from elite status, while Connors lingered. Roger, then Rafa and Novak, essentially added +5 more years to what a tennis career looks like.

It isn't entirely a new precedent, except as far as the Open Era is concerned. Laver and Rosewall were still great into their 30s, and Rosewall played until he was almost 46. And of course Pancho Gonzales was still a very good player in his 40s, wining two Masters equivalents at 41 years old. But starting in the md-70s or so, the game got younger - the power game of Connors and Borg. Stan Smith and Ilie Nastase declined from their peak level in their late 20s. Newcombe and Ashe were a bit more of holdouts from the Laver era, and were still good in their early 30s, but retired shortly after. Connors was a bit of an outlier and considered on the old side when he won his last Slam in 1983 at 31. Since then, and before the Big Three, or 1984-2011 before Federer entered his 30s, only Agassi and Sampras were older Slam winners, and just barely.

Consider how many Slams the Big Three won at older ages than Connors' last: Federer with 3, Nadal with 7, Djokovic with 12. Plus, Stan's last in 2016. They re-wrote the possible, or at least the norm of 1970ish to 2010ish.

Here's a crazy stat: Novak won as many Slams as Edberg and Becker combined at an age older than Jimmy Connors' last Slam.

We won't know for some years if this longer prime will translate to younger generations. We might get some glimmer of it in the next few years, as Next Gen enters and goes deeper into their 30s. Medvedev has already declined somewhat, and who knows how long Zverev's candle will burn. Rublev and Fritz seem to be trending downward, and of course Tsitsipas is a shadow of his former self. These guys are all 28-30ish. So we're really looking at 2031 and beyond, when Jannik Sinner turns 30.

See, you got me going.

One thing about Roger is that he loved winning. If he had had no competition (i.e., no Djokodal) he would have carried on long enough to lap Sampras. Bear in mind that without the competition he may have got to 20, 25, 28?? rapidly. Might still have retired at 35 and that would have been enough time to get those numbers, even if he was getting 3 a year for 6 or 7 years after 2007. In any case it's likely that someone else would have grown into the role of challenger. There are players out there who's potential was supressed by Rafa, Novak and Andy, who all of a sudden would have been more motivated to improve. Life is weird like that. There are potential GOATs in any era that end up still born because someone else takes their soul. Just being able to be THAT guy who could regularly stand in finals against Roger would have lit a fire under any number of the guys we look at as also rans

 

[Federberg]

It isnt food posioning Arnaldi has a bad virus, he has been vomiting and feeling dizzy, called the doctor over night who gave him pills, he tried to see if he could get on court, but could not get up sad to say.,still feeling dizzy, he has made the right decision.,

That's really really sad. I hope he gets future opportunities. I can only imagine how devastating that decision was for him

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

That's really really sad. I hope he gets future opportunities. I can only imagine how devastating that decision was for him

Indeed. especially this was his first GS SF

 

[britbox]

Mens Doubles Highlights

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

After a perfect run without dropping a set Granollers and Zeballos (1) have defended their mens doubles title defeating Patten/Heliovarra (2) 64 62!