Alongside tournaments in Hamburg, Halle and Munich, the MercedesCup in Stuttgart is one of four German events on the ATP Tour calendar. The ATP 250 tournament, held at Tennis Club Weissenhof, switched from clay to grass in 2015.

The 2020 edition of the event would have been held this week, if not for the Tour suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to know about the tournament.

1) A Week To Remember
After missing 11 weeks of the 2018 ATP Tour season, Roger Federer made a successful return to action in Stuttgart. Making his third straight appearance at the ATP 250 event, the Swiss defeated Mischa Zverev, Guido Pella and Nick Kyrgios to reach the final and guarantee a return to World No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. In the championship match, Federer saved both break points he faced to beat Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6(3) for his maiden Stuttgart trophy.

2) One Last Victory For Haas
Tommy Haas may have defeated two Top 15 players en route to the 1999 championship match in Stuttgart, but the 6’2” right-hander’s biggest victory at the grass-court ATP 250 came in 2017. After battling past Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first round, the wild card saved a match point to stun top seed Federer 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 in the Round of 16.

Haas withstood 23 aces and was forced to save nine of 12 break points to advance to his third quarter-final at the event. It proved to be the final victory of the German’s career, with Haas retiring from the sport at the Generali Open in Kitzbühel later that year.

“I’m a little bit speechless that I beat him today. It’s been a while since I have won back-to-back matches and to do it today against Roger is obviously one of my career highlights. It’s a very special feeling,” said Haas.

3) The Grass-Court Season Begins
Held the week after Roland Garros, alongside the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the MercedesCup provides ATP Tour stars with a first opportunity to gain grass-court match experience during the 2020 ATP Tour season.

Since the tournament transitioned to grass in 2015, three of the four Stuttgart champions have followed their title runs with success at the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle. Federer, the 2018 champion, advanced to the championship match at the grass-court ATP 500 tournament, while 2016 winner Dominic Thiem and 2019 titlist Matteo Berrettini reached the last four in Halle.

4) From Clay To Grass, Makes No Difference To Rafa
After a long tradition of clay-court tennis, the MercedesCup transitioned to grass in 2015 as part of an extended grass-court season. The change was welcomed by former World No. 2 Haas, who made seven appearances at the event during his career.

“I think it is great that they finally realised to make it a little bit of a longer grass-court season,” said Haas. “It is one of my favourite surfaces to play on, so that’s great, I think. It’s great for German tennis.”

Nadal twice won the title on clay before winning the inaugural grass-court event in 2015. In 2005, in his third appearance at the event, the Spaniard didn’t drop a set en route to the title, beating Gaston Gaudio 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the final. After returning two years later and taking out Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5 in the final, Nadal had won 21 straight sets at the tournament.

Eight years would elapse before Nadal would return to Stuttgart for the first grass-court edition. He survived tough three-setters against Marcos Baghdatis and Bernard Tomic before beating Gael Monfils in the semis and Viktor Troicki in the final to extend his winning streak at the tournament to 14 matches.

5) An All-Star Honour Roll
Since 1978, Stuttgart has crowned a number of high-profile champions. In fact, seven former World No. 1s have lifted the trophy in Stuttgart: Bjorn Borg (1981), Ivan Lendl (1985), Andre Agassi (1988), Thomas Muster (1995, ’96), Gustavo Kuerten (1998, 2001), Rafael Nadal (2005, ’07, ’15) and Federer (2018) have all triumphed at the ATP 250 event.

Lendl (1985) and Kuerten (1997) also claimed the doubles trophy in Stuttgart. Other doubles winners include Jan Kodes and Tomas Smid (1978), Colin Dowdeswell and Frew McMillan (1979, ’80), Paul McNamee and Peter McNamara (1981), Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez (1988), Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares (2017) and John Peers and Soares (2019).

The Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, which began at the inception of the ATP Tour in 1990, is one of only two Dutch events on the ATP Tour calendar.

The 2020 edition of the event would have been held this week, if not for the Tour suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to know about the tournament.

1) The Grass-Court Season Begins
Held the week after Roland Garros, alongside the MercedesCup in Stuttgart, the Libema Open provides ATP Tour stars with a first opportunity to gain grass-court match experience during the ATP Tour season.

Several champions in ‘s-Hertogenbosch have gone on to achieve success at Wimbledon in the same year. In 2000, when the event was held in the week before The Championships, Patrick Rafter advanced to the championship match at SW19. Former champions David Ferrer and Gilles Muller also built on their title runs at the ATP 250 event, reaching the quarter-finals at the All England Club in 2012 and 2017, respectively.

2) Formidable Frenchmen
In recent years, French stars have enjoyed consistent success in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The nation has accounted for five of the seven most recent champions at the tournament, with Nicolas Mahut (2013, ’15-’16), Richard Gasquet (2018) and Adrian Mannarino (2019) lifting the trophy. Since 2013, only Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and Luxembourg’s Muller have broken the French hold on the tournament.

3) A Dream Destination
Surrounded by trees and a tournament lake, the ATP 250 tournament provides a tranquil break from the usual fast-paced lifestyle required on the ATP Tour.

“The atmosphere here, I have to say, is almost like home,” said Marin Cilic. “I am just enjoying my time here and enjoying the nature.”

Tournament director Marcel Hunze also shared his memories of Michael Chang, who visited in 1989 after winning his maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.

“The first time he came here, he liked it so much that he started fishing the whole day,” said Hunze.

Pete Sampras, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are the only three players that average winning more than 40 per cent of their matches after dropping the first set in a best-of-three-set match.

An Infosys ATP Insights deep dive into how players climb the mountain of winning matches after losing set one initially uncovers that no player wins more matches than they lose after stumbling in the opening set. The data set of 42,909 matches includes players that competed in a minimum of 100 ATP Tour matches in their career since 1991, which is when statistics in tennis were first recorded. The data set also excludes retirements and defaults.

The 241 players in the data set averaged coming back to win the match 21.7 per cent of the time (9301/42,909), making it approximately a one in five chance. Tennis is a sport that rewards getting ahead, whether it’s with points, games or sets. Playing from ahead activates the scoreboard as a potential opponent, oftentimes increasing pressure for the player trailing in the match.

The match win percentages of the three players to break through the 40 per cent threshold are:

1. Pete Sampras = 41.33% (62/150)
2. Novak Djokovic = 41.30% (76/184)
3. Roger Federer = 40.17% (92/229)

Within the data set, Sampras won 62 times after dropping the first set, including the following four finals:

•1994 Miami def. Andre Agassi 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
•1997 Philadephia def. Patrick Rafter 5-7, 7-6, 6-3
•1998 Atlanta def. Jason Stoltenberg 6-7, 6-3, 7-6
•1999 Queen’s Club def. Tim Henman 6-7, 6-4, 7-6

Djokovic has come back to win 76 matches after losing the opening set, including 42 times in an ATP Masters 1000 event, with the most being 12 in Rome at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. He’s twice won the championship match in Rome after dropping the opening set.

•2008 Rome: Djokovic def. Stan Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
•2014 Rome: Djokovic def. Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

Federer has won 92 best-of-three-set matches, including nine finals and 16 semi-finals, after dropping the opening set. He has come back to defeat both Stan Wawrinka and Juan Martin del Potro four times each after dropping the first set throughout his career.

The other eight players in the data set who managed to push their win percentage to north of two wins out of three attempts (>33.3%) are:

•Lleyton Hewitt = 39.6%
•Rafael Nadal = 39.1%
•Andy Murray = 38.7%
•Kei Nishikori = 35.9%
•Stefan Edberg = 35.6%
•Boris Becker = 35.0%
•Michael Stich = 34.6%
•Jo-Wilfried Tsonga = 33.7%

Losing the first set gives you about a 20 per cent chance of victory. The best competitors in the game can double that ratio to around 40 per cent, but nobody has been able to push it up to a break-even record of 50 per cent. There is a lot to be said for a solid warm-up and being the first to break serve.

It’s the time of year that brings a smile to the faces of players and fans. The first week of June marks the arrival of summer in London, as warm weather and sunny skies signal the start of grass-court season on the professional circuit.

The smell of freshly-trimmed lawns waft through the air at the Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club, with the annual grass season opener held at the 139-year-old ATP Challenger Tour facility. This week would have marked the tournament’s 17th edition, which has attracted some of the ATP’s future stars over the years. Eventual Wimbledon champions Lleyton Hewitt and Roger Federer both kicked off their professional grass-court careers at this very club, in 1998 and 1999, respectively. In 2018, Alex de Minaur cracked the Top 100 with his first grass-court final appearance. And last year, a total of seven Top 100 players descended on the London suburb.

Of all the storylines to emerge from the Surbiton Trophy, none were as fascinating as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s wild weekend in 2007. The future World No. 5 enjoyed a breakthrough grass campaign. His tour of London would see him lift the trophy in Surbiton, stun Hewitt en route to the third round at the Fever-Tree Championships at Queen’s Club and sprint to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon.

The most impressive part of that stretch was an unprecedented weekend, which saw Tsonga take the title in Surbiton and qualify for his first ATP Tour grass-court event at Queen’s. With only 11 miles (17.7 km) separating the two tournaments, the Frenchman was able to achieve the feat by traveling back and forth on Saturday and Sunday. He would compete in – and win – his semi-final and final matches in Surbiton, as well as three qualifying rounds at Queen’s. That’s five matches in just two days!

On Saturday, the 22-year-old’s dizzying journey saw him defeat Chris Guccione in the Surbiton semis in the morning, and then drive an hour to Queen’s Club, where he kicked off his qualifying campaign with a win over Joshua Goodall. The next day, he won his second round of qualifying at Queen’s, took the car to Surbiton for the final of the Challenger, where he defeated Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 7-6(4), and incredibly traveled back to central London once again to punch his ticket to the main draw with a 64-minute win over George Bastl. It was one of the more impressive – and improbable – tales of resilience and determination.

Page 113 of the ATP Rulebook indicates that, when feasible to drive between the two locations, the player can compete in qualifying of the subsequent tournament. The ATP supervisor holds full discretion and it’s the player’s responsibility to be on time for all matches. A marathon match or even a traffic jam can see the plan go up in smoke. Due to the logistics required, the magnitude of Tsonga’s two-day journey would be extremely rare nowadays.

The Frenchman did not stop there, winning two matches in the Queen’s Club main draw, including a straight-set upset of defending champion and former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt just three days later. And, later that month, he did not drop a set en route to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. His reward: a Top 100 debut in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

Tsonga’s connection with the ATP Challenger Tour is a special one and it extends far beyond his magical weekend in 2007. Last year, the Frenchman faced a long and arduous recovery after undergoing left knee surgery. Having fallen outside the Top 250 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, he would be forced to rediscover his motivation and passion for the game at the Challenger level.

A perennial Top 20 player for his entire career, Tsonga found himself in uncharted territory, competing in his first Challenger tournament since that unforgettable week in Surbiton more than a decade earlier. Despite only needing to play in three events on the circuit in 2019, Tsonga admits it was nonetheless a humbling experience. And one that reminded him of why he first picked up a racquet.

“Playing in Challenger tournaments helped me find the reasons why I was playing tennis again. The conditions are always more difficult. There’s always a battle. You meet with players who are dreaming of being great champions. And even the crowd that is attending is a different crowd.”

Tsonga credited his victory at the Cassis Open Provence for his subsequent triumph at the ATP 250 event in Metz, which propelled him back inside the Top 50. In fact, he would become the biggest mover to the year-end Top 50, soaring 230 spots in total.

“It’s always pleasant to play such tournaments, because then we realize that what we do is exceptional,” Tsonga added. “We get closer to the public when we play Challengers and we listen to what people say and it makes you feel good. It helps you have a different view of your career, of tennis at large and to find pleasure again in playing tennis.”

After three consecutive runner-up finishes to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, Roger Federer once again stood just one victory away from a place in the history books in 2009.

Following Nadal’s fourth-round exit, the 13-time Grand Slam champion contested what felt like ‘three or four finals’ under increased pressure from fans and the media in Paris. En route to the championship match, Federer produced a stunning comeback from two sets and a break point down against Tommy Haas in the fourth round and also recovered from two sets to one down during his semi-final clash against Juan Martin del Potro.

Bidding to become only the sixth man to complete the Career Grand Slam, Federer stood across the net from the first player to overcome Nadal on the Parisian terre battue: Robin Soderling. The Swede had stunned fans on Court Philippe-Chatrier with his victory against the four-time defending champion, but the 24-year-old built on his breakthrough performance with wins against Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Gonzalez to reach his maiden Grand Slam final.

Soderling struggled to discover his best form in the early stages, as Federer charged through the first set after 23 minutes. Steady drizzle and an appearance from an intruder knocked Federer’s rhythm in the second set, as Soderling began to reduce his unforced error count and find success on his serve.

A tie-break was needed to separate the pair and, it was there that Federer stretched his advantage. With three aces and multiple winners, Federer cruised into a 6/1 lead. The second seed landed a fourth ace to claim the second set in emphatic fashion, as the French crowd roared in unison.

The Mutua Madrid Open champion rode the momentum into the third set, breaking Soderling in the opening game. Federer maintained that advantage to serve for the title at 5-4 and, after saving a break point, the Swiss claimed his maiden Roland Garros crown 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4 with a powerful serve into Soderling’s forehand.

Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi and now, Federer: In his 11th appearance at the clay-court Grand Slam championship, the Basel native had finally joined the exclusive club of Career Grand Slam winners.

“I just think it’s an unbelievable achievement. I’m very proud of my career, obviously. I achieved more than I ever thought I would,” said Federer. “My dream as a boy was to win Wimbledon one day. I won that five times. To get [the Roland Garros title] at the end, as the last remaining Grand Slam, it’s an incredible feeling. The waiting and the age definitely has a big impact on how important and how nice this victory actually is. It’s been a long time coming and I’m happy I got it today. I’m very proud.”

As the sixth man to complete the Career Grand Slam, Federer was formally welcomed into the club just minutes after his victory. The fifth man to achieve the feat, Agassi, presented Federer with the Coupe des Mousquetaires during the trophy ceremony.

The victory also represented another major milestone in Federer’s career. By lifting his maiden Roland Garros title, the 6’1” right-hander tied Pete Sampras’ then-all-time record haul of 14 Grand Slam singles titles. Federer reached the mark in his 40th Grand Slam appearance, while Sampras captured his 14th major title at his 52nd and final Grand Slam event: the 2002 US Open.

Federer’s tie with Sampras on 14 Grand Slam titles lasted just 28 days. At Wimbledon, the Swiss defeated Andy Roddick in a classic five-set final to claim his 15th major crown and take outright ownership of the top position on the Grand Slam titles leader board.

On 5 June 2016, Novak Djokovic stood one victory away from a place in tennis history.

Competing in his fourth Roland Garros final, the World No. 1 was attempting to become only the third man to hold all four major singles titles at the same time. It was a position he had also been in four years earlier, when he lost the 2012 championship match to great rival Rafael Nadal.

On this occasion, Djokovic would not face the nine-time champion for the trophy. His opponent was Andy Murray, who was appearing in his first championship match on the Parisian terre battue.

The reigning Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion entered the contest with a 23-10 ATP Head2Head record against Murray, which included a 4-2 advantage in Grand Slam finals. Djokovic had beaten Murray to lift his third straight Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open in January, but the two men had split final meetings in Madrid and Rome in the previous month.

After dropping the first set, Djokovic motored towards victory, conceding a combined three games in the second  and third sets before closing out the match 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.

More than 46 years after Rod Laver completed his second Calendar Grand Slam in 1969 (also 1962), Djokovic had joined the Australian and Don Budge (1938) as the third man to hold all four Grand Slam trophies at the same time. The Belgrade-born star also became the eighth man to complete the Career Grand Slam.

“It’s a thrilling moment,” said Djokovic. “One of the most beautiful I have had in my career… It’s incredibly flattering to know that Rod Laver is the last one that managed to do that. There are not many words that can describe it. It’s one of the ultimate challenges that you have as a tennis player. I’m very proud and very thrilled.”

Djokovic’s victory in Paris brought him level with fellow 12-time Grand Slam winner Roy Emerson in fourth place on the Grand Slam titles leader board. The 29-year-old also became the first man since Jim Courier in 1992 to win the Australian Open and Roland Garros in the same year.

Competing in his 10th Grand Slam final, Murray was bidding to join 1935 champion Fred Perry as only the second British man to claim the Roland Garros singles title. Five weeks later, the World No. 2 lifted his third Grand Slam title in front of home fans at Wimbledon.

“This is Novak’s day,” said Murray. “Winning all four Grand Slams at once is a great achievement. This is something that is so rare in tennis. What he’s achieved the last 12 months is phenomenal. I’m proud to be part of it today.”

Winning a Grand Slam is an incredible feat, but winning 12 at one event is otherworldly.

Rafael Nadal has lifted the Coupes des Mousquetaires at Roland Garros on 12 occasions, triumphing at the clay-court major more frequently than any other player in history. ATPTour.com looks back at his dozen triumphs in Paris, from his maiden crown as a teenager in 2005 to his latest as a 33-year-old man in 2019.

2005
Despite having never played at Roland Garros before, Nadal arrived as the hot favourite after picking up ATP Masters 1000 titles in Monte-Carlo and Rome, in addition to triumphing on home soil in Barcelona. After defeating Roger Federer in a four-set semi-final on his 19th birthday, he picked up the first Grand Slam title of his career by beating Mariano Puerta 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5.

“Everything happened very quickly,” Nadal reflected years later. “I went from being No. 50 in the [FedEx ATP Rankings] to fighting to win Roland Garros. I think in my head I assimilated that well, calmly. I think I had been adequately educated to be prepared in case something like that happened. I accepted everything as if it were normal and I think that that was one of the keys to being able to continue with the same intensity of work, passion and motivation.”

2006
Nadal’s route to defending his title was not without difficulty. In the third round, he needed four hours and 53 minutes to survive home favourite Paul-Henri Mathieu 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, a match which remains the longest he’s ever played at this event. But the Spaniard triumphed in Paris once again by defeating Federer 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4).

He also set a new record that year. By beating Robin Soderling in the first round, Nadal won 54 straight matches on clay and surpassed Guillermo Vilas’ record for most consecutive victories on the surface.

“He always seemed to me a spectacular tennis player. He is able to deal with competitiveness with maturity,” said three-time Roland Garros champion Gustavo Kuerten to ATPTour.com in 2012. “That’s how Nadal won the tournament.”

2007
For his Roland Garros hat trick, Nadal once again outlasted Federer in the final and prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. At age 21, he became the youngest player to earn three titles in Paris. The Spaniard didn’t drop a set en route to the final, scoring notable wins over Juan Martin del Potro, Lleyton Hewitt, Carlos Moya and Novak Djokovic along the way.

“In 2007, I started to feel that Nadal was a better player than Federer on clay,” said Moya, now Nadal’s current coach, to ATPTour.com in 2012. “That was the first year I felt that Rafa was controlling the match, controlling the point, and the way he was losing that set against Federer was because he was not playing at his best. When he was playing at his best, he was finding his way to beat Federer.”

2008
Nadal equalled Bjorn Borg’s four consecutive titles (1978-1981) at Roland Garros with a flawless display of tennis. He didn’t drop a set during the fortnight, easing past Djokovic 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(3) in the semi-finals before routing Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 in the championship match.

“The most amazing thing obviously is the guy comes in, three-time champion, and that was probably from start to finish his most dominant performance,” said Brad Gilbert to ATPTour.com in 2012. “It just kind of had that feeling they’re just watching it from afar, that nobody had a shot the way he was playing at the moment.”

2010
Having suffered his first defeat to at Roland Garros the previous year at the hands of Soderling, Nadal gained revenge by winning back the trophy with a dominant 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win against him in the final. Once again, the Spaniard won the Coupes des Mousquetaires without dropping a set during the tournament.

“I think that win, that final against Soderling, sort of got his career back on track,” said three-time Roland Garros champion Mats Wilander to ATPTour.com in 2012. “It was the match that made him believe that he’s not done and it transformed his game.”

2011
By winning his sixth title in Paris, Nadal tied Borg’s record for most singles titles at this event. His path was less straightforward than in previous years, though. He was down two-sets-to-one in his opening round against John Isner before fighting back to win in five sets, then outlasted an inspired Federer in the final to score a 7-5, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-1 victory.

“Nadal ensures his opponents have to deal with a variety of spins, and his margin for error in these long rallies is incomprehensible,” explained 1999 Roland Garros champion Andre Agassi to ATPTour.com in 2012. “He hits close to the lines to move his opponent around the court. He strikes his forehand so he puts it above his opponent’s shoulder and Nadal is consistently great in defence.

“That is why Nadal is so tricky to beat in five sets, especially at Roland Garros. He is like a boxer who constantly jabs. It totally wears an opponent down.”

2012
In a final that ended on Monday due to rain, Nadal beat Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 and broke Borg’s record with his seventh Roland Garros title. He raised his level with each match, cruising past good friend Juan Monaco in the fourth round before easing past fellow countrymen Nicolas Almagro and David Ferrer in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.

“For me, it’s really an honour,” the Mallorcan said after his victory. “Borg is one of the greatest of history, so for me, the comparison with the great Bjorn is fantastic.”

2013
In 2013, Nadal became the first player to win the same Grand Slam eight times. He was forced to rally from a set down in his first two rounds against Daniel Brands and Martin Klizan, then dug deep against Djokovic in the semi-finals to prevail 9-7 in the fifth set. Nadal saved his best for last to blitz Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in the final.

“The feeling on court was great. The match[es] against David are always difficult,” Nadal said. “I think the score is much easier than what the match was today. I think for moments I played great. I think a few moments in the match, I played at very, very high level.

“Eight times here is a lot. I never thought about that. But I will keep practising with the same passion and intensity to bring my tennis to the highest level possible.”

2014

Nadal was pushed early on in his quarter-final against Ferrer before finding a new gear and cruising to 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 win. He then equalled Pete Sampras’ mark of 14 Grand Slam titles when he sealed his ninth Roland Garros crown, putting him in a tie for second place on the all-time list, by once again defeating Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 in a thrilling final

“Federer has 17 and I have [won] 14 Grand Slams,” said Nadal. “[Breaking the record], it’s not a source of motivation for me. I’ll follow my own path. Then when my career is over, we’ll count. I don’t really care that much about the records. I’ll still play with a lot of intensity. I’ll still be motivated.

“To me, winning is the result, the equivalent of lots of effort. Therefore, I feel more serene and personally I’m very satisfied.”

2017
Nadal was unable to lift the Coupes des Mousquetaires in his previous two attempts, withdrawing before the third round in 2016 due to a wrist injury and falling to Djokovic in the 2015 quarter-finals. But it only made his 2017 triumph that much sweeter. He stormed to the title without dropping a set and dominated Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 in the championship match to earn his 10th Roland Garros crown, a feat referred to as “La Decima”.

“It’s been magical, all the things that have happened in this tournament for me. I’m so very happy for everything,” Nadal said. “Today was a very important day for me. There have been some tough moments [and] injuries, so it’s great to have big success like this again.”

2018
Nadal’s streak of 37 consecutive sets won ended in the quarter-finals against Diego Schwartzman, but he held off the Argentine to advance 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. In the final, Nadal defeated Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to defend his crown and hold the Coupes des Mousquetaires for an 11th time.

“Coming back and to have the chance to win in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, and now especially here, it’s very emotional for me,” Nadal said. “It was a very special moment and well received, that minute or two minutes of the crowd supporting me. That feeling in that moment was difficult to describe it. Very emotional for me.

2019
Nadal and Federer had not met at Roland Garros since 2011, but they reunited on Court Philippe Chatrier in 2019 as the Spaniard scored a convincing 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory in the semi-finals. Nadal and Thiem faced off again in the final and the Spaniard triumphed once again with a breathtaking 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 performance. Nadal’s 12th title in Paris made him the first player in history to win 12 titles from an individual Grand Slam tournament, surpassing Margaret Court’s 11 titles at the Australian Open.

“What I have to do today is not think about if it’s incredible, because it’s a real thing for me. Even if it’s something I never dreamed about five, six, eight years ago, it’s happening today. And my goal is just try to keep going,” Nadal said. “It’s not about having excess ambition, but it’s about just trying to keep enjoying the things that I am doing.”

In just more than 24 hours, Dominic Thiem has experienced the widest range of emotions possible. On Saturday, the 25-year-old completed an epic five-set victory against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic to become the first Austrian to reach multiple Grand Slam finals. But on Sunday, after winning the second set of the championship match against now 12-time champion Rafael Nadal — the only set he has won in Paris against the Spaniard — the fourth seed managed to win just two games in the final two sets combined en route to a  defeat.

“I just came from heaven to hell,” Thiem told NBC’s John McEnroe after the trophy ceremony. “But it’s tough right now because you have to beat seven good players to win this tournament and towards the end you have to beat one or two legends with 15-plus Grand Slams and if you’re not 100 per cent in every department, you’re not going to make it.”

After dropping a set in each of his first three matches this fortnight, Thiem found his rhythm, beating former World No. 6 Gael Monfils and then Russian Karen Khachanov, who will reach a career-high World No. 9 Monday, without losing more than four games in a set. Then he raised his level even more to oust Djokovic. But Nadal still stood between the Austrian and the Coupe des Mousquetaires.

“That’s a unique and also brutal thing, I guess, in our sport, in tennis, that I won six amazing matches. I beat yesterday one of the biggest legends of our game. Not even 24 hours later, I have to step on court against another amazing legend of our game, against the best clay-court player of all time,” Thiem said. “That also shows how difficult nowadays it is to win a Grand Slam. That’s what I meant yesterday. I was feeling so happy, with such a good win, and today, of course, I lost. I failed to make my biggest dream in my tennis life come true, so I don’t feel that good like yesterday.”

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There’s no doubt that Thiem enjoyed a magnificent run at Roland Garros. His semi-final victory was a roller coaster in itself, as Thiem let slip two match points on his serve at 5-3 in the fifth set against Djokovic, before settling down to end the Serbian’s 26-match major winning streak and stop the top seed’s dream of capturing a fourth consecutive Slam.

That was the World No. 4’s third straight day of action, and his match against Nadal was his fourth in a row. But Thiem was adamant that he lost against Nadal because the legendary lefty was simply the better player.

“It was a Grand Slam final, so I didn’t really feel tired, but of course it’s going to leave some traces, all these past four days and all the long tournament,” Thiem told McEnroe. “But yeah, I played against a guy who’s won this tournament 12 times, so that’s not the reason why I lost.”

Thiem was closer than he’s ever been against Nadal at Roland Garros, trading blow for blow with the 33-year-old through two sets. In their three previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings on the Parisian terre battue, Thiem had not won more than four games in a set. But all it took Sunday was one slip — in this case a sloppy service game to open the third set — for Nadal to capitalise.

“I closed [the second set] out 7-5 and then I dropped in my game for some reason. It’s not that bad against some other guys,” Thiem said on NBC. “But Rafa stepped on me and that’s why he’s too good.”

This doesn’t take away from Thiem’s strong year, though. He won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Open, and defeated Nadal en route to claiming the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell trophy. Thiem leaves Paris in fourth place in the ATP Race To London.

“I had, until now, my best year for sure. I have won Indian Wells, Barcelona, finals again here. Even though I didn’t win the tournament, still, two years finals in a row, it’s nice. I think that I developed my game. I was also closer than last year in the finals, I have the feeling, I mean, especially in the first two sets,” Thiem said. “So I’m on the right way. And I failed today, but my goal and my dream is still to win this tournament or to win a Grand Slam tournament. I will try my best next year again.

“I gave everything I had in these two weeks. That’s all what I could do. Was not enough at the end, but I went very far.”