With the 2017 French Open now in the books, it is time for me to write my list of 10 things to take away from the two weeks that were at Roland Garros. While there were concerns coming in about the absences of Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Roger Federer, it still proved to be an exciting event.
#1. Rafael Nadal is back: After having not won the title at Roland Garros since 2014, Rafael Nadal is once again the champion of the sole grand slam on clay, defeating Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 in the final. Rafa has won 10 titles at Roland Garros and 15 grand slam titles overall. The King of Clay returned to excellence, dominating the event for two full weeks. Dominic Thiem, the man who everyone thought had a great chance at dethroning Nadal, fell in straight sets 3-6, 4-6, 0-6 when the two faced off. Regardless of what happens to Nadal the rest of the year, all appears to be right in the tennis world with him back on top at his favorite event.
#2. Jelena Ostapenko has arrived: At just 20 years of age, Jelena Ostapenko captured her first career grand slam title, defeating Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final. With the title, she has now elevated herself to #12 in the world after coming into the event outside the Top 32. Ostapenko made some strides at the Australian Open, reaching the third round, but nobody saw this coming. The big question now is how will she respond at Wimbledon, which is only a couple of weeks away? I'll address that more in my Wimbledon preview, but for now I want to simply acknowledge that a new star may have been born in Jelena Ostapenko.
#3. Stan Wawrinka doesn't need to thrive at Roland Garros tune-up events: Stan Wawrinka failed to reach the quarterfinals at all three masters events on clay. However, that didn't stop him from reaching the final. I found Wawrinka's run to the final to be very impressive considering his lack of success on the dirt coming into the event. Wawrinka reminded us that he's a three-time grand slam champion for a reason.
#4. Can Simona Halep get it done? I hate to bring up the topic of choking when it comes to any elite level athlete, but with Simona Halep it's time we start addressing this head on. She's #2 in the world and lost to an unseeded player in the final. She's come close to winning grand slams on multiple occasions, reaching the French Open final twice (2014 & 2017) and the semifinals at Wimbledon (2014) and the US Open (2015) once. But for whatever reason she has failed to win a grand slam title. After failing to capitalize on such a golden opportunity, it's fair to wonder whether or not she's got what it takes to win one.
#5. Will a French Open title always elude Andy Murray? Andy Murray doesn't have to prove anything to anybody. He has two Wimbledon titles and one US Open title. He's also reached the Australian Open final five times, so there's good reason to think he'll breakthrough down under at some point. As far as the French Open is concerned, he has found the least success there. He's reached the final just once (2016) and lost in the semifinals this year to Stan Wawrinka. I think it's fair to wonder whether or not Murray will ever be able to get it done at Roland Garros considering that it is by far his weakest grand slam event.
#6. Caroline Wozniacki blew a golden opportunity to win her first grand slam. Caroline Wozniacki lost to the eventual champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 2-6, 2-6 in the quarterfinals, really blowing a golden opportunity to win her first grand slam title. The 11 seeded Wozniacki didn't have Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, or Victoria Azarenka to contend with. It was a wide open draw and a perfect opportunity for her to capture her first grand slam title. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to get the job done and truly does appear to be destined for a career without a grand slam title. She's becoming the modern day Tim Henman of women's tennis.
#7. Should we have expected more from Dominic Thiem? After defeating Rafael Nadal on clay earlier this season, many thought Dominic Thiem had good odds of giving Nadal a serious run for his money at Roland Garros. Unfortunately for Thiem, he fell to Nadal 3-6, 4-6, 0-6 in the semifinals, failing to put up much of a fight. While Thiem did have a good tournament overall, his inability to get one set off of Nadal is pretty disappointing considering all the hype he had coming into the event.
#8. Would Maria Sharapova be the champion had Roland Garros let her play? I don't want to take anything away from Jelena Ostapenko, who had a fantastic event and deservedly won her first grand slam title. All the same, I can't help but wonder whether or not Maria Sharapova would have won the event considering how weak the field was. I guess we'll never know.
#9. How much trouble is Novak Djokovic in? Going down in the quarterfinals is not how Novak Djokovic wanted the French Open to go. The addition of Andre Agassi to his team did not produce the desired results. After falling in the 2nd round at the Australian Open and the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, Djokovic finds himself as the #4 player in the world. With Wimbledon only a couple of weeks away, he better find some answers fast before he's looking back on early exits in the first three grand slams of the year.
#10. Garbiñe Muguruza didn't do a good job defending her title. After winning the French Open last year, many expected another deep run from Garbiñe Muguruza. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, she got bounced in the 4th round by Kristina Mladenovic. While a 4th round exit isn't terrible, Muguruza didn't live up to her standards, either. She knows she should have done a better job defending her title. Especially considering the absences of so many top players.
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