The King of Clay strikes again

Rafael Nadal wreaked havoc on the French Open field this year, breaking more records and punishing opponents like it was 2008. The nine-time Roland Garros champion won “La Decima” becoming the first player to ever win 10 grand slam titles at a single event. Nadal only lost 35 games in the seven matches he played, failing to drop a set en route to one of the most dominating performances in grand slam history. It was a healthy Nadal that arrived in 2017, reaching the final in Melbourne and Miami on the hardcourts before winning three of four tournaments on clay leading up to the French Open. The forehand was back, the backhand was improved and Nadal installed fear into every opponent from the first point of the tournament. Nadal won all 21 sets he played without giving up more than four games in any of them. The King of Clay is back, and the greatest will never go quietly.

Unseeded champion breaks multiple records

It was well known that the 2017 French Open women’s championship was going to be one of the most wide-open fields in grand slam history. But no one expected a player outside the top-45 not only reaching the final, but upsetting the pre-tournament favourite. Jelena Ostapenko came from out of nowhere to become the first player to win a grand slam from Latvia. She took advantage of a favourable draw in the early rounds, and then defeated Simona Halep in the final with a breathtaking display of fearless tennis. The 20-year-old went for it on every shot, as if she had no interest in getting into lengthy rallies with talented defensive players. The strategy paid off, as she fired 54 winners in the match with no fear of missing any of her shots. Ostapenko set many records with her victory, including becoming the youngest champion at Roland Garros since Iva Majoli in 1997. The scary part is that clay isn’t even Ostapenko’s favourite surface. This was Ostapenko’s first title on the WTA tour, having not won a professional event outside the ITF level in her career. Much is to come from this free-swinging youngster. Her ranking improved from No. 47 all the way to No. 12 after Roland Garros.

Milos manages to stay healthy

Milos Raonic had played four consecutive tournaments coming into the French Open, leaving many to wonder if his body would hold up during the tournament. With the amount of injuries he had already sustained in 2017, it was almost expected that at some point his body would let him down. Fortunately, that was not the case as Raonic cruised in his first three rounds, only dropping one set. In the fourth round, Raonic lost a heartbreaking match to the No. 20 seed Pablo Carreno Busta. The Canadian saved six match points, the first time he had done so since playing on the ATP Tour, and had several comebacks before eventually losing 8-6 in a five-set marathon. Many would suggest that Raonic, the No. 6 seed, was upset in this match, however Carreno Busta was having a career season and is an extremely solid clay-court player. The fourth-round exit is nothing to be upset about, as the grass season is on the horizon where Raonic excels the most. The intriguing post-tournament news was that Raonic parted ways with his coach Richard Krajicek, a former Wimbledon champion, leaving the Canadian to work with main coach Riccardo Piatti for the time being.

Genie bows out early with grass season on the horizon

It would be safe to say that not much was expected of Eugenie Bouchard after a disastrous hardcourt season, but the former French Open semi-finalist put up a very respectable clay court season with wins over No. 1 Angelique Kerber and Maria Sharapova in tune-up tournaments for Roland Garros. Bouchard won her first-round match in a three-set comeback win over No. 72 Risa Ozaki before losing to the in-form Anastasija Sevastova in the second round. Bouchard went down 5-0 in her opening set of the first round before finally finding her groove that helped secure an the win, but could not find the rhythm in the next round. Bouchard came into Roland Garros with a severe ankle injury. Even though was healthy enough to play, she admitted the injury affected her throughout her second-round match. With the clay season now over, the No. 57th ranked player in the world will be taking to the surface that served her well in the past and is expected to improve her results approaching Wimbledon. Without Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova in the spotlight, there is opportunity for Bouchard to make a deep run at Wimbledon.

Canadians continue to make noise at Grand Slams

It’s been several years since Bouchard and Raonic became household names in Canada, but neither has yet to have their name etched in a professional grand slam trophy. In 2014, Vasek Pospisil won the Wimbledon doubles title with American partner Jack Sock. This week, 25-year-old Ottawa native Gabriela Dabrowski became the latest Canadian to win a grand slam title by taking the mixed doubles championship with partner Rohan Bopanna. It has been a breakthrough year for Dabrowski, a doubles specialist, who recently reached the top-20 in the women’s doubles rankings for the first time and won her first premier-level tournament by taking the title in Miami with partner Xu Win. Dabrowski wasn’t the only Canadian taking home silverware from Paris as the duo of Bianca Andreescu and Carson Branstine took home the junior girls’ doubles title, going the entire tournament dropping just one set. For Andreescu, it’s likely the end of a fantastic junior career which included deep singles runs at the US Open in 2016 and Australian Open this year, while Branstine is still in the early stages for junior grand slams with a bright future ahead.