Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
While most attention is on Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams and their attempts at tennis history at Roland Garros this year, it’s Andy Murray who also has an opportunity to etch his name in the tennis history books.
By reaching the final at Roland Garros, Murray will join nine men to reach all four major finals in a career in the Open era of pro tennis. Murray, of course, won the U.S. Open in 2012 and famously Wimbledon in 2013 (the first British champion in 77 years) and has been a runner-up at the Australian Open, losing a painful five times (2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016). At Roland Garros, however, he has only gone as far as the semifinals – in 2011, 2014 and 2015.
In some circles, Murray might be even seen as the favorite to win at Roland Garros after his win in Rome at the Italian Open, defeating world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the final. By “simply” reaching the final at Roland Garros, the No. 2-seeded Murray will join Djokovic, Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Ivan Lendl, Ken Rosewall, Jim Courier and Stefan Edberg as the only men to reach all four major finals in the Open Era (since 1968). Others in the history of tennis to achieve the feat are Ken Rosewall, Jack Crawford, Lew Hoad, Frank Sedgman, Fred Stolle, Fred Perry, Don Budge and Roy Emerson. This is an achievement that players such as Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and John Newcombe were not able to achieve.
Djokovic will look to complete his elusive “Career Grand Slam” at Roland Garros, an achievement he has failed to live up to the last few years, most notably last year when he lost the final as a heavy favorite to Stan Wawrinka, after finally getting past nine-time French champion Nadal in the quarterfinals.
Nadal will look to increase his record tally of French singles titles in 2016 as he seeks to be a “double-digit” winner at Roland Garros with a 10th singles title. He seems to have found some of his “King of Clay” form by winning titles in Monte Carlos and Barcelona. He has a new “pep in his step” as Greg Garber writes on ESPN.com here: http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/15564637/tennis-rafael-nadal-quest-double-digit-french-open-titles A win in Paris for Nadal would also give him a 15th major singles title that would place him alone in second place all-time among men for most major singles titles won. He is currently tied for second place with Pete Sampras with 14 major titles, behind Federer and his 17 major singles titles.
This year, Serena Williams will not be gunning for a Grand Slam like she did in 2015, by virtue of her final round loss in Australia to Angelique Kerber, but she is still on course to equal Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 major singles titles. Williams won her 21st major singles title at Wimbledon last year and, when looking to close out only the seventh Grand Slam in tennis history, lost in the semifinals of the 2015 U.S. Open to Roberta Vinci.
To read more about Andy Murray, buy or download the entertaining and informative early biography “Andy Murray, Wimbledon Champion: The Full Extraordinary Story” by Mark Hodgkinson here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559408/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_tCgpxb1CM5WNS
