2019 Roland Garros displays the world’s new rising tennis stars

Out of all the tennis tournaments in the world, it’s time for the French Open, more formally known as the Roland Garros, to show the new stars of 2019. From May 26 to June 9, competitors fought every step of the way to earn a place in the final. Tennis fans were surprised by some finalists because they’re young and usually eliminated during the quarterfinals or the semi-finals.

For example, Asleigh Barty is a young Australian player who hasn’t won a lot of competitions. But she stunned everyone by advancing to the finals and beating Czech player Marketa Vondrousova. Barty’s victory against the 19-year-old was astonishing, since both players were pretty young. Although Vondrousova is ranked no. 38 in the world for singles, she still played better than many other players and beat them easily. However, going against Barty, ranked no. 2, was no easy challenge. Both players played hard and traded points back and forth. In the end, Barty claimed victory.

Rafael Nadal beat world-class Swiss player Roger Federer in the semi-finals and advanced to the finals, facing Austrian player Dominic Thiem. The suprising thing is that in the second semi-finals game, Thiem defeated Novak Djokovic. Djokovic is a widely respected and talented player, and to be beaten by a young player with no Grand Slam titles must have been disappointing. The match lasted over two days and match time estimated to about four hours. Thiem finally overtook Djokovic and scored the last remaining points that would secure him a place in the final with Nadal.

Both players struggled to gain an advantage over one another. “Thiem is a top player, world No. 4, it will be his second French Open final and before he had played the semifinals. I have full respect for him. I will have to play at my best level,” Nadal said in an interview with France TV the day before the final. During the actual final, players traded points back and forth, one gaining an advantage over the other before losing it in the next serve. But during the last set, Nadal was totally focused and easliy cruised his way towards the trophy that was awaiting him. This is Nadal’s 12th consecutive Roland Garros title.

Kristina Mladenovic had already clinched her spot as the new WTA Doubles World No.1, and further cemented her career with a third Grand Slam women’s doubles title, pairing fellow No.2 seed Timea Babos to defeat Chinese team Duan Ying-Ying and Zheng Saisai, 6-2, 6-3 to win the French Open.

The Frenchwoman needed to reach at least the semifinals to have a chance at the No.1 ranking, where she and childhood friend Babos knocked out Sunshine Double winner Elise Mertens – her remaining rival for the top spot – and Aryna Sabalenka for the team to reach their third straight major final, having finished runner-up at the 2018 US Open and again this year in Melbourne.

Germany’s Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies have concluded their French Open fairytale on the best possible note as they claimed their maiden Grand Slam title after beating France’s Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin in the final 6-2 7-6 (3).

Chardy and Martin, who badly wanted to win it all in front of their home crowd, didn’t handle the pressure well early on as the German duo got off to a quick 4-0 lead before they served out for the opener in the eighth game.

Featured Image –Young Ashleigh Barty wins her first French Open Grand Slam title Photo Courtesy of images.firstpost.com

by Isaac Ma