French Open…and Chapter Close
There are many examples of layers whose careers have gone downhill after making their breakthrough at Roland Garros
A comparative analysis of the four Grand Slam tournaments in tennis suggests that a triumph at the French Open is definitely a tough act to follow.
Call it coincidence, a curse or even a jinx, for that matter. Tennis history is replete with examples of players whose careers have gone downhill after making their breakthrough at Roland Garros. There are many players who won their maiden Grand Slam title in the French capital and failed to add another major trophy to their cabinets. Success in Paris marked the onset of a downward trajectory in their career curves.
Statistics point out, that in the Open Era (since 1968), 10 players who won their first major title at the Australian Open failed to replicate that success and had to retire without another Grand Slam title. That number comes down to six when one analyses the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club and is reduced to just four when the year’s final major, the US Open, comes under the scanner.
More importantly, the number of players who failed to win another major having sealed their maiden triumph at the red clay in Paris stands at 16. In fact, the number goes up to 20 if the players still playing get included.
As the world gets ready for yet another edition of the year’s second major let’s attempt to go through a list of players whose successes at Roland Garros hastened the decline of their respective careers.
It is imperative here to mention that this list neither includes those retired players (Yannick Noah, Michael Chang, Thomas Muster, etc) who achieved further success after their breakthrough in Paris nor takes into consideration players who are still plying their trade. Besides, we also exclude players who made it to the final of Grand Slam competition again, after their win in Paris.
Andrés Gimeno (Spain)
For starters, and trivia buffs please make note, that the Spaniard still remains the oldest first-time Grand Slam champion at Roland Garros.
Gimeno played as an amateur in the 1950s and early 1960s but was mostly a lesser-known name. Even with the advent of the Open Era, his success was sporadic, with an Australian Open final defeat (in 1969) at the hands of Rod Laver and a semi-final showing at Wimbledon in 1970. There was no big trophy in his showcase.
That was until 1972, when Gimeno defeated Frenchman Patrick Proisy 4–6, 6–3, 6–1, 6–1 to win the French title, his first and only major. He became only the second Spaniard to win in Paris, after the legendary Manuel Santana (1961 and 1964).
By then he was almost 35 and in the twilight of his career. His title defense ended with a second-round defeat at the hands of Guillermo Vilas. He hung up his racket a little later.
Adriano Panatta (Italy)
Arguably the best player from Italy after Nicola Pietrangeli, Panatta remains the only player to have beaten six-time winner Bjorn Borg at Roland Garros, not once but twice — first in the fourth round in 1973, and then in the quarter-finals in1976, both times in four sets.
Panatta did not achieve much in the initial phase of his career, losing in seven straight finals at one point. However, it was in 1976 that he peaked as a player. First, he claimed a big title at the Italian Open, and a few weeks later came the biggest moment of his career as a professional. He beat American Harold Solomon 6–1, 6–4, 4–6, 7–6 (3) to win the French Open.
The triumph was all the more special because the Italian had to save a match-point against Czech Pavel Hut’ka in the opening round. He went on to help his country win its maiden Davis Cup title that year and finished a career-high No 4 in the rankings.
He played for seven more years and won three more titles. However, Panatta could never replicate the high of 1976.
Andrés Gomez (Ecuador)
Coming into the 1990 French Open, Gomez was in the twilight of his career. Having played professional tennis for a good 11 years, the then 30-year-old didn’t have a kind of resume to be particularly proud of.
He had never hitherto progressed beyond the last eight of a Grand Slam, having won just two major titles, both at the Italian Open (1982, 1984). In fact, Gomez’s best results had come in the doubles.
Statistics didn’t favor the Ecuadorian by any means; he had made the last eight stage of a major tournament on just five occasions, in 26 attempts. However, when opportunity presented itself, Gomez was prepared to grab it with both his hands.
Benefitting from an easy draw the veteran reached the semi-finals, where he faced Muster, the ninth seed. A straight sets win meant Gomez was one match away from the biggest prize of his career, and he was up against a youngster named Andre Agassi.
The American happened to be the crowd favorite but the Ecuadorian had something that his rival didn’t have back then. That happened to be experience, an aspect that makes a considerable difference at the biggest of stages. Gomez used that attribute to good effect and held his nerve to eke out a four-set win, a result that became the hallmark of his career.
That Roland Garros triumph marked a perfect swansong as well. Gomes won just one more title in his career, at Brasilia in 1991.
Iva Majoli (Croatia)
In the early 1990s, Iva Majoli was considered a promising prospect, particularly on clay.
So it didn’t surprise many when she upset an in-form Martina Hingis of Switzerland in straight sets (6–4, 6–2) to win the women’s singles title (her seventh) at the French Open in 1997.
The loss ended Hingis’s 37-match winning streak, and many believed Majoli had arrived big time.
They were to be proved wrong as the Croat’s career suffered a massive decline immediately after. Majoli did reach the quarter-finals at Paris the following year, but failed to reach the third round of any subsequent Grand Slam tournaments she played.
Her form had gone on a downward spiral after that result in Paris. She surprised many by winning a big ticket event in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2002. But that title (her eighth) was an aberration as opposed to a revival.
Albert Costa (Spain)
Considered a good player on clay Albert Costa had only one big title, at Hamburg (1998) to back his credentials.
Worst still, going into the French Open in 2002, he had not won a tour title in almost three years. A shocking statistic that, one may think.
That said he was consistent at Roland Garros that year. An upset win over two-time defending champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil in the fourth round was followed by a similar result over compatriot, and two-time finalist, Alex Corretja in the last four.
Despite his two upset wins, it was Costa’s rival in the final, another Spaniard named Juan Carlos Ferrero, who was considered to be the favorite for the title. But it was Costa who won 6–1, 6–0, 4–6, 6–3 to claim what was not only his maiden major title but also his final ATP title.
The following year, Costa spent a total of 21 hours and 15 minutes on court, winning four five-setters while defending his title. He was eventually knocked-out in a semi-final by Ferrero, the eventual champion. That defeat hastened the end of the Spaniard’s career.
Anastasia Myskina (Russia)
In 2004, Myskina made history.
When she won the French Open, beating compatriot Elena Dementieva 6–1, 6–2 in the decider, she became the first Russian woman to win a Grand Slam title, in what was also the first all-Russian major final.
However, the title also marked the beginning of the end of her career. A year later, she became the first defending champion in Paris to lose in the opening round when she was beaten in three sets by Spaniard Maria Sanchez Lorenzo.
Bluntly put, as a former champion, Myskina arguably has the worst ever singles win/loss record (11/7) at Roland Garros, with as many as five first round exits in eight appearances overall.
Gastón Gaudio (Argentina)
Does the name ring a bell? Not quite.
He is without doubt the biggest surprise in this list. That said, his otherwise inglorious career had a lone bright spot.
In 2004 Gaudio became the first Argentine to win a Grand Slam title since the legendary Vilas (in 1977) when he defeated compatriot and pre-tournament favorite Guillermo Coria 0–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–1, 8–6 in the first all-Argentine final at Roland Garros.
The first set bagel also ensured Gaudio the not so enviable record of being the first man ever to win a major title after losing the first set of the final at love (6–0). For someone who came into the tournament ranked 44th, it was quite an achievement nonetheless.
While it was no surprise that the Argentine failed to repeat his feat in any subsequent major tournament, in 2005 Gaudio did win as many as five titles on his favored clay surface before heading into oblivion.
In 2009 the Argentine, then ranked 359th, turned up at Roland Garros as a wildcard. He was possibly hoping to relive the best two weeks of his life. However, there was no fairy tale ending on this occasion. He was sent packing (6–3, 6–4, 6–1) by Czech Radek Stepanek in the opening round.
