French Open Records

There are a handful of stars that consistently lift the bar of international tennis, setting new records and breaking existing ones, and these players are without a doubt the true champions of Roland Garros.

We look at some of these great players and their awesome on-court achievements but we have concentrated on the game since the beginning of the open era of tennis in 1968.

Navratilova Triumphs on a Surface that does not Suit!

Possibly the one player who captured the imagination of fans throughout the world with her aggressive intent and her unprecedented stamina that led to a professional career that spanned over thirty years is the indomitable Czech turned American, the fabulous and incomparable Marina Navratilova.

She holds a glittering array of French Open records but what makes her achievements so much more commendable is the fact that clay was her least preferred surface. In fact, when her arch -rival, Chrissie Evert, was dominating the clay court season in both Europe and the States, Navratilova opted not to contest either of them! She did, however, manage to beat Evert, who was widely touted as the best player of clay, three times on the surface, and one of these titles was the French Open Grand Slam!

Evert is still by far the most successful women's singles player at the French, having claimed seven crowns in her dazzling career but she never managed to take more than two titles on the trot, so Monica Seles and Justine Henin have that feather in their cap with three consecutive French Open titles apiece!

Martina's Track Record at the French

• She holds the record for the most French Open titles with 11 (2 singles, 7 doubles and 2 mixed doubles)
• She, together with Puerto Rico's Gigi Fernandez, holds the record for the most consecutive women's doubles wins with five
• She is the winner of the most doubles titles with 7

'Ice Borg' Still on Top of the Records Standing....for the meantime!

Then there is the man who set the tennis world aflame with his calm, measured stroke play and his dead-pan demeanour on-court, the man dubbed the 'Ice Borg', Sweden's Bjorn Borg. Borg is one of the few consummate clay court practitioners who has gone on to win consistently on the grass of Wimbledon, a feat that has recently been emulated by the newly crowned Sovereign of tennis, Rafael Nadal.

Borg is still two titles in the black compared to Raffa's Roland Garros record, having claimed a grand total of half a dozen at the celebrated grand slam of Paris. He not only holds the record for the most singles wins with six but he now has to share the winner's podium with Rafael Nadal for the record for the most consecutive wins at the French, with four!

Quickies

• Monica Seles at 16 years and 6 months is the youngest winner of the women's singles title, whereas American, Michael Chang, at 17 years and 3 months was the youngest man to capture the title.
• Only three unseeded players since 1968 have caused a major upset by winning the title and they are Mats Wilander in 1982, Gustavo Kuerten in 1997 and Gaston Gaudio in 2004!