By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Tennis fans who have downloaded the new “This Day In Tennis History” mobile app will receive a special “ping” on their IPhone, IPad or Android device on the morning of June 5 reminding them of a special anniversary in tennis that is once again thrown into the spotlight at Roland Garros.
It was exactly 30 years ago on June 5, 1983 when Yannick Noah exorcised a generation of French frustration by becoming the first men’s singles winner at Roland Garros in 37 years. A similar French frenzy returned to Roland Garros Tuesday – 30 years minus one day since Noah’s French Tennis Revolution – as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took a giant step to having a chance to play for the coveted Coupe de Mousquetaires with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 quarterfinal upset of 17-time major champion and No. 2 Roger Federer.
“France Dares to Dream as Tsonga Defeats Federer” read the headline on the website of the New York Times hours after Tsonga’s guillotine execution of the King Federer, cheered raucously by the French mob at Stade Phillipe Chatrier. Tsonga is now only one match victory from being the first French men’s singles finalist since Henri Leconte in 1988 and only the third since Noah’s 1983 triumph. But rather than seven-time champion Rafael Nadal or world No. 1 Novak Djokovic awaiting in the semifinals, it is the less intimidating, but ferocious No. 4 seed David Ferrer of Spain, who has yet to punch through into the major singles final.
There are many similarities between Tsonga and Noah – both are of mixed race whose fathers hail from Africa, and both are swash-buckling, powerful presences on court with flashy games to go with their French fashion magazine allure and magnetism. When Noah achieved his pinnacle career moment, he paraded through the 1983 French draw as the No. 6 seed, the same seeding that Tsonga holds this year.
In his post-match press conference Tuesday, Tsonga was asked of his relationship to Noah. “Well, when he sings, I dance. That’s my relationship,” he said of 1983 French champion, who transformed from tennis champion to leading French pop singer. “When he says something to me, I listen to him.”
“50 Millions de Noah” was the headline in the French sports daily newspaper L’Equipe the day before Noah’s final in 1983, meaning “the entire French population of France would be behind Yannick Noah,” writes Tom Tebbutt in the latest edition of the emagazine Tennis Journal. Tsonga have no fewer numbers on his side and his name will dominate the newsprint, airwaves, blogs and social media updates in France until his tournament comes to an end. The way he handles the pressure, attention and opportunity presented him will be an equally compelling drama and allure than his athleticism on the court. Before last year’s French Open, Tsonga famously told reporters that there was “no chance” that a Frenchman would win the tournament, perhaps to lower expectations or a mere vocalization of a lack of belief that may have manifested when he blew four-match points in a 6-1, 5-7, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-1 loss to Djokovic in last year’s French quarterfinals.
The June 5 entry in the “This Day In Tennis” mobile app reads as follows:
1983 – Yannick Noah creates a frenzy of French patriotism at Stade Roland Garros becoming the first Frenchman in 37 years to win the men’s singles titles at the French Open, defeating Mats Wilander 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 in 2 hours, 24 minutes in a passion-filled final. Noah serves and volleys and chips and charges on the slow red clay court to become the first Frenchman since Marcel Bernard in 1946 to win the French men’s singles title. Noah is discovered at age 10 in the African nation of Cameroon, the birthplace of his father, when U.S. Davis Cup star Arthur Ashe informs French Tennis Federation President Philippe Chatrier of Noah’s talent after seeing him play – with a tennis racquet carved out of wood during a U.S. State Department visit. Wilander falls short in his attempt to defend the title he won the previous year as an unknown 17-year-old, being unable to hit enough passing shots to fend off the constant net attacks by the dread-locked 23-year-old Noah. Writes Bud Collins in the Boston Globe, “Perhaps the French will rename that huge monument at Place de l’Etoile and call it Noah’s Arc de Triomphe. The original outlasted a flood, but the current one opened the floodgates of emotion at Stade Roland Garros and washed away not only the Swedish Reign of Terror in the French Open, but also a seemingly impenetrable barrier that has separated French male players from their own title for 37 years.”
The “This Day In Tennis” mobile app can be found by searching “Tennis History” in the iTunes App Store and Play Store or directly at these two links:
Apple iTunes: http://m1e.net/c?96279190-QVNZbhE7otwIQ%4018743020-36wDaWUl4hHss
Google Play: http://m1e.net/c?96279190-vbTXOvDe.eVzA%4018743021-/sLwXB3bzqDE6
Fans can follow the app on social media at www.Twitter.com/ThisDayInTennis and atwww.Facebook.com/pages/This-Day-In-Tennis-History/163146853852276?fref=ts.
To subscribe to Tennis Journal, go to www.Tennis-Journal.com
